


(I) Liberate My Darkest Devotion

by Revelation_Dis



Series: The Violation [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra's in denial, F/F, F/M, Forced Pregnancy, Rape Aftermath, Scorpia is trans, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Weird dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-03-30 01:57:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19032400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revelation_Dis/pseuds/Revelation_Dis
Summary: After rescuing Catra from her fate, Scorpia is determined to keep Catra safe. This would be a lot easier if Catra didn't act like what happened to her wasn't a big deal.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the song The Forsaking by Fleshgod Apocalypse.

“You got a call from who?” Glimmer asked albeit somewhat angrily.

From her position sitting on the bed, Adora looked up at the younger woman. She knew that Glimmer’s anger wasn’t directed at her so she had no problems with explaining the situation to Glimmer.

“I received a call from Scorpia. All she said was that Catra needed my help and to track her.”

To say that Glimmer was skeptical was an understatement. She didn’t for a moment believe that Catra actually needed help. “Adora, I know the two of you used to be close and I know that you still care about her, but this sounds like a trap,” Glimmer softly explained to Adora.

“What if it’s not, Glimmer? What if she really does need my help?” Adora asked.

“Ugh!” Glimmer groaned out of exasperation.

On the one hand she didn’t trust Catra, didn’t like the woman at all and as far as she was concerned, Catra could drop dead and Glimmer wouldn’t be upset about it. On the other hand, she also knew that Adora still cared about Catra and would never forgive her if something was in fact wrong.

“Let’s wait for Bow to get back from his archery practice, then all three of us will track their location, okay?” Glimmer answered softly.

“Okay, that sounds like a good plan,” Adora smiled.

A sense of relief washed over her. She knew that this could indeed be a trap set by Catra, but if it wasn’t, and if Catra really was in need of help then Adora would never forgive herself for abandoning Catra. “Thanks Glimmer. I know you don’t like her, but I really appreciate this.”

“You’re welcome, Adora.”

“By the way, when was the last time you recharged your powers?” Adora asked.

“Just this morning, so I’ll be good!” Glimmer answered cheerfully.

***  
It had been at least a couple of hours since Scorpia had contacted Adora, and she was starting to berate herself for this idea. “Come on, you could have rescued her and taken her to any other location, but nooo, you just had to call Adora!”

Heaving a sigh, the short-haired woman sat down on the tree stump that was next to the rock that Catra was sleeping on. She was relieved about this, because she figured that Catra needed the sleep. A frown formed on her face when she started to think about what she had seen. She knew Hordak was bad news, but Entrapta? Sure, Entrapta wasn’t exactly the shining beacon of moral purity, but what she had done, whatever it was she had done, was inexcusable. Right? But what if Hordak had forced Entrapta to do these experiments for him? Scorpia was still deep in thought when she heard Catra shout.

“Where the fuck am I??”

“Wild Cat! Good, you’re awake. So listen, something bad happened back at the Fright Zone,” Scorpia begin to explain.

“Well then obviously we need to go back and fix it,” Catra glared as she started to unwrap the blanket from her body, “And why am I naked??”

Scorpia sighed, and closed her eyes, “Catra, they did something to you. When I found you, you were completely out of your mind. I had to get you out of there.”

“What are you talking about?” Catra asked, now wrapping the blanket around herself.

Scorpia frowned, how was she going to explain this to Catra? She decided that the best course of action would to be as direct, but as gentle as possible, “They were doing some type of experiment on you.”

For once Catra didn’t retort with something, in fact she now seemed to be in deep thought about something. Scorpia herself frowned, unsure if she should keep her distance or not. Of course she wanted nothing more than to swoop Catra up into her arms and to tell her that everything would be alright but she felt that encroaching on her personal space right now would be a very bad idea.

“Hey, how are you doing?” 

Catra was seated once more on the rock, still deep in thought. There was a huge chunk from the past couple of days that she couldn’t quite remember, but what she did remember made her uneasy. She remembered that Hordak had nearly killed her, but then didn’t because Entrapta had convinced him of something. What had she convinced him of? It had something to do with helping to create super-soldiers, that she vaguely remembered. She also remembered being in a bed for some reason.

“Yes, I’m fine, look, about the experiment, it’s whatever, it happens all the time. Let’s just go back, right?” Catra muttered.

Before Scorpia could reply the two of them saw Adora, Bow, and Glimmer step through the bushes. With anger in her slitted eyes, Catra hissed, “What are you doing here?”  
The three Rebellion members paused, and naturally Adora was the most concerned. Usually Catra had some sort of mean-spirited quip to say to them, so this was an unusual occurance. “Scorpia said you needed my help,” Adora answered.

At hearing this, the feline flew into a rage and retaliated against the closest person who just so happened to be Scorpia. “You did what??” she hissed, and started to claw at the bigger woman. “I don’t need to be helped! Especially not by Adora!”

The blanket had fallen from her body revealing to the other three that she was naked underneath.

“Why is she naked?” Bow whispered to Glimmer while averting his gaze.

“I don’t know, but I’m starting to doubt that this is a trap,” Glimmer answered, her own gaze transfixed on Catra.

Of course Catra noticed this, and smirked, “Hey Sparkles, like what you see?”

Glimmer quickly turned away.

As gently as possible, Scorpia had Catra in her arms, more so in an attempt to prevent her from actually mauling someone. “Catra, calm down, alright? We’re not going back to the Fright Zone, not after what happened.”

“Let go of me!!” Catra screeched, thrashing wildly in Scorpia’s arms.

Scorpia tried to keep a grip on the girl but this was proving difficult. What ultimately caused her to relinquish her hold on Catra was the sharp pain she felt on her leg when Catra scratched her. Her grip loosened, and Catra took this opportunity to scramble herself out of Scorpia’s arms and down to the ground below.

“Nothing happened to me! You’re making a bigger deal out of this, so if you’re not coming back with me then just fuck off,” Catra growled.

She quickly took off before either Scorpia, Adora, Glimmer, or Bow could do anything to stop her, and by the time it dawned on them to do something, Catra was surely gone by now, hidden by the Whispering Woods.

“Scorpia, what happened?” Adora asked.

There was no answer. Scorpia just stared out at the forest that Catra had disappeared into. It was a couple of minutes later when she finally answered. “Hordak and Entrapta were doing some type of experiment. I didn’t quite know what it was at first. Entrapta would only say that it involved genetics, and that Grizzlor and myself had some of the best in the Horde,” saying that last part made Scorpia feel ill, “I, look, I’ll just cut it short. They were…” a pause.

Adora, Bow, and Glimmer waited for her to finish, but it was Glimmer who gave that slight nudge that Scorpia needed.

“They were breeding Catra,” she answered finally.

The reactions of the other 3 ranged from shock to disgust. Adora's face had fallen; Bow looked absolutely shocked; and Glimmer looked like she was on the verge of throwing up.

“What are we going to do?” Adora finally asked.

“We need to find her, I'm not letting her go back,” Scorpia proclaimed. 

“Then what?” Bow asked.

“You guys go find her,” Glimmer started, “I'm going to talk to my mom.”

“Glimmer, are you sure that's a good idea?” Bow asked.

The shorter girl shook her head, “We can’t just bring her back without warning. Plus my mom will know what to do.”

***  
Entrapta had just recently discovered that both Catra and Scorpia were gone. In all actuality she really didn’t seem to be all that perturbed by this recent turn of events. “After all, these sorts of things happen all the time! It won’t do anyone any good to keep our focus on such things. What we should do is find another subject.”

“Another subject for what?” Hordak asked from behind her.

“Oh! There you are! New developments have emerged in our latest experiment.” Entrapta answered tunefully.

Hordak only cocked his brows. It was in him to assume that such a bright voice could only mean that something beneficial had happened, except he’d been around Entrapta just enough to know that the girl got excited over everything. “What are these new developments?” he asked.

“That? I am almost certain that Scorpia stole Catra from us.”

“WHAT?!” Hordak bellowed, “Did we not post guards at the door?” his flash of anger had subsided just as quickly as it had appeared.  
“We don’t have a second in command; all of the remaining Force Captains are busy training the cadets, and our officers are busy taking over unconquered areas,” Entrapta explained.

Hordak practically collapsed on his throne. “What do you propose we do, Entrapta?”

“I propose that we find another subject,” she answered with a shrug.

“No,” Hordak shook his head. “I want you to track Scorpia and Catra.”

“And bring them back?”

“No, watch them and report back to me each day. Understood?” 

“Yes, although I don’t see how it benefits you to let them go,” she questioned.

If it were any other person, Hordak would have just commanded them to leave, except Entrapta wasn’t any other person, and often times his threats had no effect on the woman. “Right now I’m only concerned about the child that’ll be growing in Catra’s womb. Once she delivers the baby I’ll see to it that it’s retrieved.”

“Ahhh, gotcha!! And what about Catra and Scorpia?”

“They’ll both be disposed of,” Hordak said simply.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer talks to her mother, Catra has a melt down, and Entrapta spies on the group.

Glimmer just hoped that her mom wouldn’t be busy at this moment. She knew that she didn’t have a lot of time, so when she noticed that her mom was talking to someone else, her face fell.

“Noo!” she whispered harshly.

Her mother’s talks are never entirely predictable. They can last from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours. Glimmer just hopes that this talk is more of the former and not the latter. When she notices her mom dismissing the other person, a sigh of relief comes out. Good, this is good, now she can talk to her mom.

“Hi, Mom, I uhh, need to ask you about something,” Glimmer said.

“Glimmer, is something the matter? You don’t look well.” Angella asked.

Glimmer swallowed, “Mom, I’m fine, but we’ve encountered a situation and we don’t know what to do.”

The Queen’s face remained relatively still, but inside she was wondering what could possibly be wrong. If any rebel aligned location were under attack then she would have been the first to receive news about it. She started to wonder if something had happened to Glimmer, and if so who would she need to rip apart?

Except for the most part, her daughter appeared to be alright.

“What is the problem?” she asked.

Glimmer inhaled slowly, eyes closed, then exhaled, “I hate her, but something bad happened, bad enough for them to defect from the Horde, and she’s in trouble and I’d sort of just prefer to leave her except I know I can’t!”

“Glimmer! Slow down. Who are you talking about?” Angella queried.

The only part she really understood was that supposedly two members of the Horde had defected for some reason, and Glimmer and her friends didn’t quite know what to do. Without all of the details however, Angella didn’t know what she was supposed to do either. Fortunately her daughter explained the entire situation, and as she did Angella’s expression grew grimmer by the minute.

“They have caused us a great deal of agony, this Catra more so than the other. I doubt we can trust them, but if this Scorpia is telling the truth then what would that make us for refusing to help?” the angelic queen sighed, “I will allow them refuge in my kingdom, but they will be under constant supervision at all times.”

Glimmer breathed a sigh of relief. “Mom, thank you, and I know that Adora is going to appreciate this as well.”

*****  
“EEEAAAARHHH!! Where the fuck is it??” Catra yelled, “I just saw that opening five minutes ago!”

She had been trying to get back to the Fright Zone for the past hour now, but thanks to the trickery of the Whispering Woods, and her budding starvation, Catra couldn’t find her way out. “Stupid Scorpia,” she muttered, moving a branch away from her head, “Can’t just leave me alone.”

A slight breeze reminded Catra that she was naked. She was lost, naked, starving, but she would never admit that she was scared. No, she had learned about true fear from Shadow Weaver, and this didn’t come close. Whatever had just been done to her was nothing compared to what Shadow Weaver had done to her. She repeated this mantra to herself over and over again.

Fifteen minutes later and Catra was no closer to getting back to the Fright Zone. In frustration and rage she lashed out at a nearby tree tearing off a big chunk of bark as well as one of her claws. The feline let out a yowl of pain before punching the very same tree. With her energy all but gone, Catra slumped against the tree and glared up at the trees and the sky above. Perhaps she could rest for a few minutes? After all, Adora and her band of merry whatevers hadn’t found her yet.

She absolutely hated herself for feeling so weak. Weakness was something that needed to be destroyed yesterday. She kept telling herself that nothing had happened to her; that when she got back to the Fright Zone, everything would be ok. She would just need to prove to Lord Hordak that her loyalty to the Horde was stronger than ever, easy right?

So why did she feel like something was amiss? Why, when she had certain flashbacks, did she feel a sense of dread? How come she couldn’t remember exactly what the experiment was, and why did parts of her memory contain Grizzlor? Too exhausted, hungry, and cold to continue, Catra curled up into a ball, wrapped her tail around her body, and succumbed to sleep.

*****  
“Did you hear that?” Adora asked her two companions.

Bow looked around the forest, “I did hear something, but it could just be a wild animal,” he explained.

“We’ve been searching for over an hour now! Is this, is this normal for you guys?” Scorpia asked.  
“Getting lost in the Whispering Woods?” Adora asked, “Yes, especially when we’re looking for something.”

The three of them continued to search, each one of them growing more and more frustrated as they continued to pass by certain rocks, or trees that they had marked previously. “We’ve passed by that same tree three times already!” Bow groaned.

Scorpia started to wonder if they would ever find Catra, or if the cat girl had made her way back to the Fright Zone. Worry settled on her face when she noticed that they were now passing by a familiar boulder for the fourth time. The urge to despair was strong, but Scorpia would not give up on Catra. “I don’t care how long it takes, I will find Wild Cat!”

“Wild Cat?” Bow asked.

Scorpia looked a little flustered, “Yeah, I mean, she is wild.”

A loud yowl shattered the calm, nearly terrifying the three of them. “That sounded like Catra!” Adora exclaimed in earnest.

Bow pointed ahead a little to the right, “It sounded like it came from over there!”

Scorpia was already racing to where they thought they had heard the noise. This was in spite of Adora and Bow’s attempts to get her to stop, that she didn’t know what she was doing. Scorpia paid them no heed, she knew what she was doing, and she knew what she had to do. She also hoped and pleaded that she would find Catra.

Which after about fifteen minutes she finally found the young woman curled up in on herself. If this were a lighter situation, Scorpia would have thought the site to be cute, but in this instance it wasn’t.

“Did you find her?” Adora asked.

“Yeah, she’s asleep,” Scorpia whispered, not wanting to wake her friend up.

Bow took out his communicator and pressed a couple of buttons. “Glimmer?”

“Yes, Bow?”

“Did you talk to your mom?” he asked.

Adora, and Scorpia looked at Bow. Scorpia had recently picked Catra up off the ground and was holding her bridal style. The normally light sleeper continued to snooze unaware of anything that was going on.  
“Yes, I did. Listen, she doesn’t trust them, but she’s going to let them stay in Bright Moon,” Glimmer explained.

“Really?” Adora asked.

“She wants them under constant supervision,” Glimmer added.

Adora and Bow looked at Scorpia who just kind of shrugged. “I mean I can understand why she’d want to do that.”

It wasn’t that Scorpia was excited about the prospect of being supervised, and she had a feeling that Catra herself wouldn’t like it at all, but what choice did they have in the matter? As soon as Bow ended the communication with Glimmer, the group headed to Bright Moon with Catra in tow.

*****  
“Visual and audio recording confirms that Catra and Scorpia are on their way to Bright Moon with Adora, and Bow,” Entrapta spoke into her recorder.

She had just watched everything go down thanks to one of her spybots. Now what she needed to do was find a way to get a couple of spybots inside of Bright Moon. “Perhaps the one known as Kyle might be of some use in this regard.”

Her thoughts meandered for a moment because she wasn’t confident in Kyle’s abilities to not completely fuckup something. She considered other possibilities, but for now the solution eluded her. Entrapta knew that when she couldn’t quite think of something then this was a sign for her to rest up for a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once more the comments and kudos are greatly loved, thank you everyone.
> 
> Yes, poor Kyle is going to get roped into this mess, but thankfully not like "that".


	3. Try to Save Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has a dream, Entrapta enlists the help of Kyle, and things over at Brightmoon take a turn.
> 
> Chapter title from the song Velvet Chokehold by Throes of Dawn.

_Catra honestly had no idea what she was doing in Shadow Weaver’s old cell. Wait, was it a cell? Catra could have sworn that she was in fact in a small cell, but now she wasn’t so sure. The room seemed to stretch out for what seemed like miles, yet somehow Catra could see a huge room in the distance with people milling about. It also didn’t take her long to traverse the seemingly long distance to the strange room. It was here that she noticed members of the Horde in a state of drunken passion. Raucous music filled the air, Catra couldn’t understand what was being sung but she thought it might be important._

__

_“Insolent child!” a voice rang._

_Shadow Weaver?_

_No, it was a mouse. Catra begin to chase it through out the room, paying no heed to the others in the room. She caught the mouse, and everyone around her caught on fire, but nobody seemed to notice or care. Catra quickly made her way out of the room but found herself in Hordak’s lair, only Hordak wasn’t there._

_“The bite needs a cure. The bite needs a cure. The bite needs a cure,” it sounded like Scorpia repeating this, but no, it was a snake on Hordak’s throne._

_Catra was beginning to realize that this was all a dream, and that’s when it all came apart. She vaguely remembered a dark lion just before she woke up._

*****  
Warm sunlight shone through the crystal panes of the large window, bathing Catra in its comforting light. The young woman slowly opened her eyes. Still blurry from sleep, she could vaguely make out colors of lavender and pink. She sat up on the bed and blinked a couple of times. When had the beds in the Fright Zone become so soft? It took Catra another minute or two to realize that she was not in the Fright Zone. Aggravation set in and she hurled herself out of the bed, only to stumble down to the floor.

“Woah there, Wild Cat, gotta be careful there!” Scorpia was right there to pick an annoyed and flustered Catra up from the ground.

“Let go of me!” Catra growled trying in vain to get loose from Scorpia’s strong grasp.

Scorpia placed her gently into the bed, and looked at the brunette with a sad smile. “I wouldn’t be doing that. They, uhh, want you under observation.”

Catra glared. She refused to lie down on her back, so instead she chose to sit on her haunches, her tail swishing back and forth angrily. “Who? What?” a realization hit her and she yelled, “Is this about that supposed experiment?? I told you it was fine!! I told you that nothing happened to me!”  
It hurt Scorpia to see Catra in this state. It was in her nature to comfort and console people but right now she had to suppress that very nature lest she does more harm than good. “Catra, you really don’t remember?” Scorpia questioned.

The feline thought for a good long moment. She remembered Adora as She Ra being with her, except that didn’t make any kind of sense. Any memories she had of her rape were fleeting at best but she also remembered saying yes. “Whatever happened, I let it happen, okay? I said yes. Ugh, why is everyone making a big deal about this? And where are we?”

The taller woman knelt beside the bed and looked up at Catra. “We’re in castle Bright Moon.”

*****  
“Ahh, Kyle, just the person I was looking for!” Entrapta exclaimed when she happened to stumble upon the blonde teenager.

Kyle looked around thinking that perhaps there was another Kyle that Entrapta was speaking to. After all nobody really wanted him unless it was to give food to the prisoners or find out what Catra’s favorite color was.

“Uhh, are you sure?” he asked.

“Quite sure! I have a mission for you, do you think you can do it?” the purple haired scientist asked eagerly.

“A mission? Really? Is it from Lord Hordak?” Kyle asked excitedly.

“Well, sort of…” Entrapta stalled, “I mean it would help Hordak a great deal!”

Kyle looked a little skeptical but the chance to prove his worth to the Horde was too good to pass up. Who knew, maybe if he succeeded his fellow cadets would start treating him with a little respect. “What’s my mission?”

With a grin on her face, Entrapta produced a tiny robot, no bigger than a field mouse, from her hair, and handed it to Kyle. “I need you to get to the walls of Castle Brightmoon. Once there, press this button” she pointed at the green button, “and Emma will do the rest!” 

Kyle examined the robot. “Okay, this seems simple enough, but uhh why me?”

Entrapta made a shrugging gesture with her arms and her prehensile hair. “To be honest you kind of blend in, which is advantageous to our goals.”

Without another word, Kyle was on his way.

*****

It took the efforts of Scorpia and the two guards that had been posted just outside of the door to keep Catra from running off. “Let go of me!!!” she yowled right in one of the guard’s ears.

The guard grimaced a touch but managed to keep their hold on the feline humanoid that was thrashing about wildly. They said nothing, but knew that if this Catra always acted like this, everyone in Brightmoon would have their hands full.

“Catra, calm down!” Scorpia practically begged.

“Don’t tell me to calm down you traitor!!” Catra hissed and swiped a clawed hand at Scorpia who barely dodged it.

Finally fed up with Catra, the guard holding Catra placed her back in the bed and was about to strap her in until Scorpia stopped them.

“Don’t do that!” she shouted, “I mean, just please don’t do that to her.”

“Awww, come on, isn’t that what hostage takers do?” Catra asked wryly, “besides, I bet it’d be kinky.”

The guards looked at each other, and Scorpia gave Catra a defeated look. It was at this point that Adora, and Glimmer stepped inside of the room to see what all the commotion was about.

“Your Highness, what are your instructions regarding your guest?” the second guard asked.

Glimmer closed her eyes and let out a sigh of frustration. “Guards, please leave us to speak with Catra.”

The two guards looked at each other, then stepped outside of the door, but neither one of them strayed far. Once the guards were out of sight, Glimmer glared at Catra. Catra just grinned back at her, but everyone in the room could see that her grin was only masking a deep seeded pain. The purple haired girl went to stand next to Adora.

“How are you?” Adora started to say.

Catra knocked her head back and laughed, “Oh wow! The great warrior princess wants to know how I am? Oh, let’s see, I was doing just fine until Princess Lobster over there decided that I needed to be rescued from something that I actually wanted to do! Now I’m stuck here with her, you, and Sparkles.”

Hearing that name hurt Scorpia but she didn’t show it. “I don’t care if you hate me, Wild Cat. I did what I needed to do.”

“Whatever,” Catra muttered, “You guys fucking suck at this hostage thing.”

Glimmer snapped, “Because you’re not a hostage!” 

Feeling everyone’s eyes on her, Glimmer sighed, and added, “Listen, you’re here because for some reason there are people who actually care about you.”

Catra cocked a brow, and rolled her eyes. “As I said, you guys suck at this hostage thing, but hey, thanks for the nice bed!” she stretched out her form, and scratched her head with her foot.

“I’ll have the cooks make you something to eat,” Glimmer muttered, not bothering to ask her what she wanted, “Adora, would you come with me, please?”

“Yeah, uhh sure!” Adora went to follow her friend, leaving Catra and Scorpia in the room by themselves; save for the two guards just outside the door.

Scorpia smiled at Catra, “Hey, just so you know, the food here isn’t half bad.”

“Of course it’s not! Why do you think these Princesses are so spoiled?” Catra scoffed.

Scorpia sighed, but said nothing else. The next few months were going to be a hassle, but she was determined to help her friend out no matter the cost.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra takes her first bath, Queen Angella talks to Scorpia, a bombshell is dropped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of fluff, followed by a bit of potentially triggering material.

“It has been exactly 13 days, 7 hours, and 34 minutes since operation Bird was initiated. Visual and audio feedback informs me that Catra is being well cared for. X-ray feedback, and sonographic feedback also indicate that Catra is indeed pregnant. However, it appears that she is not yet aware,” Entrapta spoke into the recorder, then shut it off, “Aaaah!! This is just so fascinating!”

*****  
It had taken a few days, but eventually Catra had calmed down enough to act civil towards everyone else. She still insisted that nothing was wrong with her, and that the Rebellion was being really foolish. She refrained from fighting or struggling against her captors. The more she did, the more energy that took from her, and Lord knows she needed the energy to eventually escape. For the next several days she played along with Scorpia’s dumb game and thoroughly acted like she didn’t enjoy any of it.

Both Scorpia, and Adora could see right through her bullshit however.

“Wow, the slop the Horde serves tastes better than this,” Catra would sneer just before shoving more of the offered food into her maw.

Another time, Scorpia had convinced Catra to take a nice relaxing bath. The concept was lost on Catra who was used to only being allowed 15 minutes for a shower. “Wait, you mean that the people here just like stay in the bath just to relax?” 

“Oh yeah! It’s really nice too! It feels good and they have these jet things that really help relax your muscles!” Scorpia explained eagerly.

Catra still thought that this sounded like a very stupid idea, but after enough coaxing and an offer to help, Catra relented. 

“I know you don’t need help bathing, but yeah these bath things can be kinda tricky,” Scorpia chuckled.

“Why? It’s just turning on water, right?” Catra asked.

“Not so much,” Scorpia started, “I’ll show you.”

One of the advantages of Catra’s room here was that the bathing area was just adjacent to the room itself, and that made things convenient. Catra stepped inside and blinked. The bathtub was huge, and could probably fit at least three people inside. Catra hoped that Scorpia didn’t want to bathe with her.

“Okay, so these uh knobs here, one turns the water cold, one turns it hot. Fiddle with them ‘til you get to what you like. This button here turns on the jets. There’s plenty of shampoos, conditioners, and soaps. Not sure what you like so maybe take a whiff of each one. Oh! And when you’re done just make sure to drain the tub.”

“Right, uhh, thanks, Scorpia,” Catra stammered.

“One more thing! That robe on the hook is supposed to help dry you off. I’ll be in the room in case anything happens.”

As soon as Scorpia stepped out, Catra rolled her eyes. She stepped up to the tub and turned the hot water on. In a few seconds the water was much too hot, causing her to hiss. No matter, she turned the cold water on, and after a little bit of tweaking with the knobs she found a temperature that suited her; something very warm. As the water started to fill the tub, the young feline took a look at the myriad of shampoos and soaps. She took a whiff of one called mint, and decided that she really didn’t like it. Some of the others were too fruity and sweet for her liking. She finally settled for one with the scent of vanilla and lavender.

It took a few minutes for the tub to fill up and when it did Catra turned the faucet off. Next she stripped off her clothing and stepped into the tub itself.

Oh Eternia, Catra thought to herself as she slowly sat herself down, this feels sooo good! She was surprised at how good this felt. A slight purr erupted from her throat as she sank further down into the water and closed her eyes. If there was a way to describe it, Catra didn’t know how. This wasn’t like swimming in the pool where the water was cold, nor was it like the sea where the water could be colder. She decided that the water here made her feel safe, secure, like being wrapped in a blanket while still being able to move. For the next fifteen or so minutes, Catra didn’t move.

After some time she applied a generous amount of shampoo to her thick mane of hair and lathered it in there. Then came the rinsing which proved a bit troublesome since she wasn’t fond of the idea of dunking her head under the water. She was relieved to find what looked like a pitcher and used that to rinse off with. 

It took some time for Catra to fully complete the bathing process, and when she was done she stood up from the tub and started to shiver. Her initial instinct was to go back into the water, but she decided against that after looking at it.

Fuck, was she really that dirty?

She bent down to unplug the drain, then reached for the white terry cloth robe and put it on. The material immediately started to absorb the water from her skin and fur. For her hair she used a large towel to start drying it. Finally when she felt dry enough, Catra went back to her room.

“Hey Wild Cat! I hope you don’t mind but I went ahead and told them what to bring us for lunch. I just figured after being in the bath for that long you must be hungry!” Scorpia exclaimed.

“Wait, how long was I in there?” Catra asked.

“Uhh, about a couple of hours. You must have really liked it in there.”

A hint of a smile threatened to appear on Catra’s face, but she did her best to hide it. “Yeah, it was alright, I guess.”

Scorpia gave her a knowing look, but simply offered her a plate of food. “You like fish, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

*****  
Queen Angella was walking the corridors of the castle. Adora, Bow, and Glimmer were out once again protecting Thaymor. The Queen was starting to think that the village should start getting better defenses. This had been about the fifth time Thaymor had fallen into the Horde’s hands. She did find it a little odd that this location along with one other location were the only ones that the Horde had gone after ever since Catra and Scorpia were allowed into Brightmoon.

She thought that something was going on, but according to her guards there was nothing of dire consequence to note. They would explain that the scorpion lady seemed to fawn over the cat lady, and the cat lady would call the Queen’s hospitality stupid.

Even so, something was up. What was going on with Hordak? What of Shadow Weaver? And what of the one known as Entrapta? Surely those three wouldn’t just be sitting on their haunches doing nothing. It was for this reason that Angella decided to speak with Scorpia.

Once she arrived at their quarters, the two guards stepped aside. Angella knocked on the door softly before letting herself in. Curled up on her bed was Catra, sound asleep despite the afternoon hours. Angella supposed that this had something to do with Catra possibly being a Magicat. Sitting next to the bed on the large plush chair was Scorpia who was reading a book. When she noticed the queen in the room, Scorpia quickly put the book down, stood up, and bowed.

“You’re majesty! I am so sorry, I did not see you come in!” Scorpia exclaimed somewhat sheepishly.

Angella sighed, “It is quite alright. I was hoping that I might speak with you without your friend being present.”

Scorpia looked down at Catra, then back up at Angella. “Yeah, sure, whatever you need!”  
Angella smiled, “Thank you.”

The two of them exited the room, and both Angella and Scorpia were flanked on each side by two guards. Once they were out of ear-shot, Angella turned to Scorpia and spoke, “You and Catra have been here for two weeks. During that two weeks it seems that your old alliance has become lazy.”

“Gosh, really? Wow, I didn’t think Catra and I were that important to the Horde,” Scorpia said somewhat bashfully.

“I pose a great risk to myself and my kingdom, but from what my daughter tells me you chose to leave the Horde. I do wonder, after all the numerous atrocities they have committed, why of all times to defect from the Horde?”

Scorpia closed her eyes and sighed. It was no secret that the woman had strong feelings for Catra, and she assumed that Angella knew this. “Your majesty, after what the Horde did to Catra, I could not in good faith stay or allow her to stay.”

“Yes, my daughter told me that something happened,” Angella replied with a hint of skepticism in her voice, “It must have been something quite terrible indeed.”

“With all due respect your majesty, the worst part of the whole ordeal is that Catra is under the delusion that nothing bad happened to her.”

Angella cocked a brow, “Why would she believe that?”

If Scorpia were indeed on some kind of mission from Hordak she would have been more cautious with her words. As it was now, she had nothing to gain from protecting them. “Before I rescued her she was not in her right mind. She was, oh how do I say this without sounding so crass?”

“Whatever it is you need to say, I’m most positive I’ve heard worse,” Queen Angella assured the other woman.

“Right, well, she was in heat, which was weird because I’ve never seen her in that state before.” she explained.

Angella looked past Scorpia for a moment, “My daughter said that you told her that Catra was being bred. At first I thought this to be a terrible joke, and to be honest I still do. Why in Etheria would the Horde do something like that?”

The anger that was rising in Scorpia’s chest was quickly squashed down. “According to Entrapta, she had the idea that by having Catra mate with a viable person this would create genetically superior soldiers for the Horde,” Scorpia paused before adding, “Your Majesty, I didn’t only leave the Horde because of Catra. If Entrapta’s plan worked then there’s no telling who else Hordak would use for this depraved experiment.”

“What of Catra, did you rescue her before she was…”

“No, there was one before me. I’m not much of a scientist, but I’ve been reading quite a bit about different things, magicats, cats, and I think it’s safe to say that she is pregnant.”

Angella frowned slightly, and headed back towards the quarters with Scorpia and the guards close by. “It might be too early to tell. I may ask Castaspella to see if she can detect any life forms within Catra.”

Scorpia frowned, “I uhh, don’t think that would be a good idea. Catra really hates magic.”

“So I see, then I’ll have to think of something. Thank you Scorpia for your time.”

*****  
“How is the experiment coming along?” Hordak asked from behind Entrapta.

The scientist was simultaneously watching the screen which contained pieces of various data, and tinkering with a small flying robot. “Ahh! It’s going quite well, in fact I say better than expected!”

“How so?” Hordak questioned.

“The data indicates that Catra’s body has been changing quite significantly within the span of these two weeks, more so than what would be considered normal given the circumstances,” Entrapta explained.

“Meaning what, exactly?” Hordak had little in the way of patience today.

“If the data is correct, Catra is pregnant with twins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a heads up, the next chapter is going to get pretty bizarre. Remember the dream Catra had in chapter 3? Yeah.


	5. What You Say Does Not Makes Any Sense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has a strange dream.
> 
> Chapter title from the song X by Subterranean Masquerade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with things like infanticide...sorta, but I'm warning for that in case anyone is squeamish about that sort of thing.

_What in Despondos was she doing back in the Northern Reach? Catra looked around her surroundings and grumbled with disapproval at the pristine white that covered everything. The only thing that wasn’t white was the sky, and Catra didn’t know how she’d describe it. It seemed to shift colors every other second but also stayed the same shade of dark purple. The oddest thing of all was that it didn’t feel cold at all. In fact it actually felt downright hot. Catra removed the winter gear she was currently wearing not paying any heed to the fact that she was now naked._

_“Gotta find Adora,” Catra told herself._

_Where the fuck were Scorpia and Entrapta? She hadn’t seen any signs of them. In the distance she saw a small building. Maybe they were in there? Catra trekked through the snow noting that the building was getting smaller and smaller the closer she got to it, but when she reached the building it was absolutely massive. She turned the knob and let herself in._

_She was in Entrapta’s lab. The screen was on, but Catra couldn’t make sense of the information on the screen. Aggravated, she swiped her entire arm over one of the many tables causing everything on it to fly off and disintegrate into a fine mist of powder. The powder swirled in the air til it congregated back into thick shadowy tendrils._

_“No!”_

_Catra backed away from the still forming black tendrils. Her gaze never left and she watched as Shadow Weaver’s form slowly emerges from the darkness._

_“How could you let this happen?” Shadow Weaver asks._

_“Let what happen?” Catra is confused._

_Shadow Weaver starts to eat a sandwich that has a human baby in it. Despite being eaten the baby simply laughs and coos. Catra gives Shadow Weaver a disgusted look._

_“Don’t give me that look! I used to eat thousands of babies a day!” Shadow Weaver gloats._

_The feline just gives the sorceress an incredulous look. “Whatever you old hag, I’ve got better things to do.”_

_“Do you now?” and now it’s the baby eating a sandwich with Shadow Weaver in it, but it’s still Shadow Weaver speaking, “You let them use you.”_

_“What?? No, no I didn’t! You were the one who used me!” Catra yells, and she starts to swipe at either the baby or Shadow Weaver but of course nothing happens._

_Now Shadow Weaver is back and the baby is gone, and Shadow Weaver starts to sing, “In the Fright Zone, the mighty Fright Zone, the lion fucks the cat.”_

_Catra covers her ears, “shut up! Shut up shut up! SHUT UP!!!” she screams._

_Then she sees a couple of pincers rip Shadow Weaver apart, and Catra blinks. “Scorpia?”_

_“Hey, hey, Wild Cat, what’s wrong?” Scorpia kneels down in front of Catra who just collapses in her arms and starts sobbing._

*****  
“Hey, hey, Wild Cat, what’s wrong?” Scorpia had noticed Catra start to thrash and scream in her sleep.

When she wakes up there are tears running down her face, and try as she might, she just can’t get them to stop. 

“Go away!!” she yells, not wanting Scorpia to see her like this.

“You had a bad dream didn’t you?” Scorpia asks.

“Whatever, it was just a dream, it wasn’t real,” Catra scoffs.

Scorpia gives her a concerned look. “It made you upset, do you want to talk about it?”

“What’s there to talk about? Shadow Weaver was there eating a baby or some shit,” Catra omitted the detail about Shadow Weaver’s song.

“Catra, I know you, sort of, but you don’t seem to be the type to cry over a baby.”

The feline hisses, “Well maybe I am!”

The bigger woman frowns. “Catra…”

“What?”

Scorpia sits next to Catra on the bed and opens her arms up to her. At first Catra doesn’t move, then she crawls over and lets herself be held. “I let it happen. I remember saying yes. I wanted it. I said yes,” Catra mumbles as Scorpia gently rocks her.

Scorpia says nothing. At least now Catra’s starting to consider what’s true and what isn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next few chapters to come Catra's going to figure out she's pregnant and will have to decide what to do. 
> 
> And for those waiting for romance to happen, it's going to happen, eventually.


	6. Paramount to Every New Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta and Hordak talk about Catra. Catra suspects she might be pregnant and runs into Queen Angella. Bow, Glimmer, and Adora discuss what may happen if Catra is pregnant.
> 
> Title from Ave! by Samael

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter talks about the concept of abortion, so if you're squeamish about that sort of thing then skip the third section.

“So, Catra is pregnant with twins?” Hordak questioned wanting to make 100 percent certain that he had heard Entrapta correctly.

“If my data is correct, then yes!” Entrapta then frowned slightly, “It’s too bad though, I had hypothesized that with her being of a feline species that she might have been carrying more. I wonder if it has something to do with the number of mates, or the number of nipples she has.”

Hordak turned to Entrapta and gave a curious albeit disgusted look. Either not noticing, or not caring, Entrapta continued.

“She only has two nipples which isn’t viable for a litter. Hmmm, but I have read of humans having several children at once! Though it is rare,” she paused and looked at Hordak.

“Tell me Entrapta, what does all of this have to do with anything?” his voice was low, a little angry, but genuinely curious.

Entrapta gave him a bit of a sad smile, “After we retrieve the twins we should take Catra back, but err, dispose of Scorpia. We can have Catra mated with more viable males of the Horde. Full litters from a single mother will almost always have several different fathers.”

Hordak listened until she was finished, and replied, “I think I have heard enough for today. We should discuss more about the current portal technology.

*********  
The first sure sign that Catra was pregnant was actually a combination of several different factors. She felt tired all the time. Even on days when she ventured out of the room she would find a patch of sunlight and curl up there to doze off. Then her nipples started to become tender, but it wasn’t until she started throwing up that she realized her worst fears were coming true.

She didn’t feel like talking to Scorpia, so she reluctantly asked the guards if they could escort her to the library. They did so, and for the most part left Catra on her own to search for what she needed to find. The feline started at one end and begin examining the spines of the books, but what she saw wasn’t what she needed. She finished the first shelf and turned to the next one, but it was the same story. By the time she was at the fifth shelf she had become very frustrated, and was ready to ask to be escorted to the training grounds so she could let off some steam.

“Do you need help finding something?” A gentle but firm voice spoke from behind Catra.

The fur on Catra’s body bristled up, and Catra turned around and looked up to see Queen Angella. “Oh. Umm, no,” Catra spoke.

“Are you certain?” Queen Angella asked.

“It’s not important,” Catra grumbled.

The last thing she wanted at the moment was for the queen of Brightmoon to think that she might be pregnant. She looked at Angella who in turn gave Catra an incredulous look. 

“Fine! I’m trying to find your porn stash! You caught me, alright?” Catra lied.

Angella did not look amused but she kept her cool. “Catra, if you want my help then you’ll need to help me as well.”

“I don’t want your help!” Catra snarled. “Look, I just, can I be escorted back to my room?” Catra asked.

The immortal noticed the slight tremble in Catra’s lower lip but didn’t push the issue. She had a feeling she knew what was going on, because she had gone through the same thing when she was pregnant with Glimmer. “Very well, guards, please escort Miss Catra to her room.”

Catra went with the guards without saying a word to Angella.

*****  
“Hey, Adora?” Bow asked.

The three friends were currently in Glimmer’s room resting up after a bout of training. Adora looked at Bow, “Yeah?”

“If Catra is pregnant, what is she going to do?” Bow asked.

Adora shrugged, “She’ll have the baby, why?”

“Wait, would she want to have the baby?” Glimmer asked.

Adora looked at Glimmer with a confused look on her face. “What do you mean? It’s not like she can get rid of it or something,” Adora questioned.

Both Bow and Glimmer were looking at Adora. Bow was the one to finally speak up. “Adora, is this a Horde thing?”

Adora nodded.

“Wow, I never imagined the Horde to be pro-life,” Glimmer added, disbelief in her voice.

Adora groaned, “They’re not. I mean when I was still a part of the Horde they used to tell us that sex had consequences and we had to face those consequences. If someone got pregnant that meant they had to have the baby.”

“Adora, that’s literally the definition of pro-life,” Bow stated.

“Yeah, well, after I joined the Rebellion I started reading up on the Horde; stuff they would never tell us. Turns out…” Adora started to look ill.

“Adora?” Glimmer put a hand on Adora’s shoulder, “are you ok?”

“After the baby was born they’d take it away from its mother. Those they deemed worthy were sent to the orphanage. Those that weren’t...they killed,” Adora managed to choke out.

Bow looked shocked, and Glimmer looked disgusted, “That’s horrible! How can they do something like that??”

“But isn’t that what you want Catra to do?” Adora asked.

Glimmer’s eyes shot up, “What? No!” she exclaimed, “It should be Catra’s choice what she wants to do.”

The blonde thought this over, then said, “Yeah, you’re right. It should be her choice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can see the Horde being anti-choice and not exactly pro-life either. They just seem to be the type that would force someone to have the baby, and then take it away.


	7. My graceful forbidden desire, they always call whisper my name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has yet another weird dream and tells Scorpia about part of it. Scorpia assumes the worst and asks a favor from Queen Angella. Catra overhears a conversation.
> 
> Title from the song The Raven by Rotting Christ.

_Catra decided not to question why everybody in Brightmoon was acting so strange. The usual duo of guards were not in her room nor were they just outside of it._

_“Hey, Scorpia, did Sparkle’s mother let us have more free-reign?” Catra asked._

_Scorpia was sitting lotus style on a chair and juggling a trio of bright color changing orbs. “You mustn’t anger the beast,” she said stoically._

_“I, okay, what beast?” Catra decided to humor her friend._

_Now Scorpia was juggling three of the black garnets, which looked ridiculous but it also impressed Catra. “Wow, I think I’m kind of turned on,” she stated out loud._

_Scorpia stood up, still juggled the three black garnets, and gave Catra a small kiss on the top of her head. “I love you, but you belong to the Beast.”_

_Catra wanted to question Scorpia some more, but the other woman had turned into a hawk moth and flown away. The feline girl then noticed Glimmer and her mother discussing something over tea._

_“I do say mum, is it so wise to release the guards from duty?” Glimmer asked._

_“It is most wise for this shall not anger the Beast,” Queen Angella spoke before taking a sip from her cup._

_Hearing that word, Catra walked over to the two of them. “Hey Sparkles, okay what is this beast?” she asked looking between the two of them._

_Both Glimmer and Angella sighed dreamily, “Catra, you are most fortunate!” Glimmer exclaimed._

_“Yes, it is the desire of all to be chosen by the Beast!” Angella added._

_Catra rolled her eyes. “Right, wonderful. Wish I knew who the fuck this ‘Beast’ was.”_

_She noticed that Glimmer and Angella were now weeping in each other’s arms. The site made Catra uneasy so she chose to leave the two of them alone. “I guess I should go find Adora, see if she’s acting stupider than usual now.”_

_She headed to the training grounds with the logic that Adora would be there. As she made her way she tried to ignore the slithering shadows creeping along beside her on the walls. Once Catra got to the doors of the training grounds however, she heard the shadows let out a shriek before disappearing._

_“Serves you right, you old bitch,” Catra muttered._

_She walked through the threshold and found herself staring at what was in the center of the grounds. Sitting on top of what looked like a huge wolf like creature was Adora, or rather She Ra. The blonde woman was completely naked. Catra found herself unable to stay away from her. She tried turning around but whenever she did She-Ra was right there. The distance between the two of them became smaller and smaller until Catra was mere inches from Adora’s steed. The princess hopped off to be closer to Catra. Despite thinking that she should be running away, or attacking, Catra instead fell into her ex-best-friend’s arms._

_“My beautiful Catra,” Adora growled before claiming Catra in a possessive kiss._

_Catra kissed back just as fiercely as Adora was kissing her. “Adora...you are the Beast.”_

Catra slowly opened her eyes then slowly sat up on the bed. The dream she had kept playing through her head. “Ugh, what a stupid fucking dream,” she muttered.

“Dream? Did you have a nightmare, Catra?” Scorpia asked.

She squatted down next to Catra’s bed and gave her a concerned look. This was met with a roll of the eyes. “It was just a stupid dream, I mean stupider than usual,” she answered, “and no it wasn’t a nightmare,” she added.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it? They say dreams are supposed to like, help you deal with certain things. It might help to talk about it, you know?” Scorpia inqueried.

Catra really did not want to tell Scorpia about the entire dream, but she figured that she would need to humor the other woman somehow. “Alright fine, everyone was acting really stupid and going on and on about,” she made airquotes with her fingers, “the Beast.”

“Wow, huh, I wonder who this beast is?” Scorpia wondered out loud.

“Whoever it was everyone said I belonged to it,” Catra of course left out the detail that the Beast was Adora.

Scorpia’s face fell and she immediately begin to think the worst. _Oh no, my Wild Cat must think she belongs to Grizzlor, oh geeze, what do I do?_ “Hey now, you don’t belong to anyone, alright?” she reassured.

Catra swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “Yeah, no shit!” she snapped. “I’m going to look for something, see you later.”

Scorpia didn’t seem at all fazed by Catra’s short outburst, and didn’t really bother to stop her. She figured that if Catra needed to do something then she’d do it no matter what.

*****  
It had been around five hours since Scorpia had seen Catra and truth be told she was really starting to get worried. It wasn’t like Catra to stay hidden for this long, and most of her usual hiding spots were vacant. “Oh crud, I hope she didn’t run away,” she fretted as she checked inside one of the many baskets in the corridors.

“May I help you with something?”

Scorpia turned and gave a slight bow, “Ah, your majesty! Yes, maybe? I can’t seem to find Catra. I mean I know she’s hiding because she doesn’t want to see anyone but she never hides for this long, I’m really worried.”

“Walk with me,” the Queen commanded.

It had now been about four weeks since everything had started, and Angella was slowly starting to trust Scorpia, although that really wasn’t saying much. She observed as Scorpia walked beside her. “I was on my way to the gardens for a warm beverage, would you like anything?”

Scorpia didn’t want to refuse her hostess’s hospitality, but she didn’t know quite what she wanted. “Yes, please, I’ll have what you’re having.”

“Very well.”

When the two of them reached the gardens, they were escorted to a small round table. The queen unfurled her wings briefly before sitting down and closing them up again. Scorpia sat down carefully making sure not to sit on her tail. “Wow, this is a very beautiful place you have your majesty.”

“Yes, thank you. My late husband Micah grew everything you see,” Angella replied, “Alright, he planted everything, but our gardeners have been tending to it ever since.”

Scorpia looked down at her pincers. She had heard how the Horde had killed king Micah. She was just a little kid when it happened, and the Horde had painted his death as some act of heroism against a cruel king who only wanted to throw Etheria into complete chaos. The silence was interrupted by Angella who was speaking to a member of the kitchen staff. “Two cups of tea, please.”

“As you wish, your majesty.”

“I can’t help but notice that you seem to have feelings for Catra,” she spoke.

“What makes you say that?” Scorpia asked.

Angella gave a slight smile, “It’s not everyday that you rebel against everything you’ve ever known for a single person.”

Scorpia sighed, “Yeah, I really do care about her, and I love her but I know she doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

It was a difficult thing to admit to, and Angella could tell how hard it was for Scorpia to admit this. She too had gone through her share of unrequited loves, so she understood the heartache all too well. “Catra is very fortunate to have a friend such as yourself.”

“Your tea,” the waiter came back and set down two cups of tea, one in front of Angella, and the other in front of Scorpia. He then left a dish of sugar, some cream, and two spoons.

Angella added a bit of cream and a level spoonful of sugar to her tea before stirring it, and taking a brief sip. She watched Scorpia carefully do the same thing before carefully taking a sip as well. She couldn’t imagine that having those pincers was of any help when it came to tasks which required a gentle hand.

“Yeah, I just wish I could do more for her though. Oh, umm, so I am so sorry to ask this, but I think Catra might need to be watched?”

Angella raised her brows, “Why do you say that?”

“It’s probably nothing, but ah, she admitted to having a dream about people saying she belonged to some beast dude. The thing is, the one that got her pregnant, he’s this hairy beast fellow,” Scorpia admitted.

“And you think that Catra will go back to the Horde under the belief that she belongs to the one who impregnated her?” Angella asked.

“I know, I mean it was just a dream, but it still worries me,” she confessed.

“Very well, I’ll have the guards keep a close eye on her just to make sure that she doesn’t do anything of the sort.”

“Oh wow! Thank you so, so much your majesty!” the scorpion woman thanked the queen profusely.

It took everything in her not to grab the other woman in a hug, but she figured that Angella wouldn’t like this at all, so she didn’t.

*****  
It wasn’t that Catra had found some location not yet found by Scorpia, or anything of the sort. It just so happened that when Scorpia would look in one location, Catra was already at another location. The young woman just couldn’t seem to stay still for long, but she wasn’t in the mood of being around people, especially Scorpia.

Right now she was in the corridors heading to the library again. This time it wasn’t so she could find a book, but because she had in fact found a spot that she enjoyed. It was located on the upper-floor of the library; a window of sorts with enough room for her to curl up and sleep. The window was situated to get the best and warmest light of the day. Best of all, with its high location and relative secretness, it was a very well hidden place. 

Exactly what Catra needed.

She was almost to the library when she thought she heard something. Her ears twitched as though locating the direction of the sound. It was coming from behind a door, and while she couldn’t be too sure it sounded like Adora talking to Bow. Curious, the feline hung around within earshot to hear what was being said.

“I mean, she’s been through something really traumatic,” that sounded like Archer Boy.

“I know, I just wish she would talk to someone,” and that was Adora talking.

“You just need to give it time, Adora,” Bow answered.

Catra rolled her eyes and decided she’d had enough of eavesdropping on this conversation. It was when she had arrived some distance away from that closed door when she thought she heard something that made her bristle up.

“I know you love her, Adora, despite everything.”

“I do, but I’m almost certain Scorpia has feelings for her as well, and maybe she’s a better fit for Catra than I am,” Adora replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing these dream segments because I can be as utterly bizarre as I want and still make them meaningful in some way.
> 
> The next chapter will have Catra confronting both Adora, and Scorpia.


	8. And I Will Let You In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sleep deprived Catra has a melt-down. Her and Scorpia have a heart to heart.
> 
> Chapter title from Katatonia's "For My Demons"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter makes mentions of child abuse. It's non-descriptive, but I thought I'd warn for it just in case.

Three days had passed since Catra had overheard Adora and Bow’s conversation. She had decided to avoid pretty much everyone that she could, although she had noticed that the guards were becoming more active in regards to watching her. This did not set well for her, but she wasn’t in the mood of starting a huge commotion. She figured that as long as they didn’t try and talk to her then she could pretend that they weren’t there. Of course trying to avoid everyone made sleeping especially difficult. She was constantly on the alert and would never allow herself a moment to relax. This was starting to take a toll on her, and she knew she should just go back to the room, but she didn’t want to face Scorpia, especially after what she had overheard.

Did Scorpia really have a thing for her? Catra eventually gave up trying to hide and went back to her, and Scorpia’s room.

“Wild Cat! There you are! Oh I was so worried about you!” Scorpia exclaimed as she gathered Catra up in a strong hug.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Personal space, remember?” Catra muttered.

Scorpia quickly moved away, “Heh, sorry about that. I just got worried is all. I couldn’t find you anywhere, where were you?”

Catra fell back onto her bed and groaned. “Around! Look, I’m tired, and I just want to rest.”

“Yeah, not a problem! I’m just going to go elsewhere. I’ll be back to check on you in a couple of hours,” Scorpia answered back.

Catra just gave a nondescript response, and Scorpia was gone. This made Catra feel more relieved. She circled around in the bed until finally curling up into a ball and closing her eyes. Her thoughts started to race again, and no matter what, she couldn’t shut them off. What made it even worse was that her thoughts were a jumbled up mess and she was too exhausted to even try and unravel them.

Adora was in love with her, and Scorpia might be as well. The idea of Adora actually being in love with her made her scoff bitterly. The thought of Scorpia being in love with her actually made her feel a little guilty. Catra felt that she didn’t deserve to be loved by anyone. It was simultaneously a logical and rash decision to come to. Afterall, her ex-best-friend abandoned her to join the Rebellion. The majority of the Horde Cadets had never liked her, and even when she became Hordak’s second in command, these same cadets only showed her respect out of fear. 

Then there was Entrapta who while Catra wouldn’t consider a friend exactly, she at least was sort of easy to get along with. Then she started hanging around Hordak and the next thing Catra knew she was just a piece in one of her experiments. Catra shut her eyes tight trying her best to forget about the experiment, but try as she might flashes from those days popped into her mind. She remembered the injections, the extreme feelings of arousal and her attempts to get rid of those feelings. She remembered She Ra.

Her eyes snapped open. “No, there’s no...why am I remembering Adora?” she said to herself.

It didn’t make sense for Adora to have actually been there. The experiment was to get Catra pregnant. While sex education in the Horde was extremely crappy they did make it known that a sperm and an egg had to be used. Last Catra remembered, Adora didn’t have the means to produce sperm.

Another memory flashed in her head but it stayed with her longer than the others. A large imposing figure on top of her, and…

Catra threw one of the pillows across the room and let out a sound, something between a wail and a sob. She tore apart one of the other pillows with her claws sending a flurry of feathers everywhere. Tears streamed down her face. She gritted her teeth trying hard to stop crying but this only succeeded in making her chest and stomach hurt. A loud wail escaped from her and she started to sob violently.

“Is everything alright in there?” a low voice said.

“Go away!!!!” Catra shrieked.

The voice didn’t say anything else which suited Catra just fine. Her sobs soon subsided into whimpering which soon became nothing but the occasional sniveling. Now utterly exhausted, Catra wiped her eyes and nose with the blanket and managed to finally fall asleep.

Only to have her sleep interrupted by the door opening, followed by a “What in Etheria has happened here?”

Catra opened her eyes. Great, it was Queen Angella. Catra wanted to say something sarcastic, but another part of her couldn’t help but see the Queen as just another version of Shadow Weaver. The words that came out of her mouth were unfiltered, and more than a little bizarre. “You going to spank me? Kitty needs to be punished.”

Angella’s eyes went up in shock. “No!” her voice calmer, she replied, “I see that you need your sleep. I will talk to you later.”

“Okay,” Catra closed her eyes, “thank you for not...beating me,” she yawned.

Angella’s blood ran cold. She left the room and headed for the throne room.  
**********  
At the Fright Zone, both Entrapta and Hordak had been watching Catra’s melt down from behind the screen. Entrapta was tinkering with what would soon become the motherboard for Hordak’s portal prototype while recording about the experiment.

“The subject is quite angry for some reason. This does not make any sense, as the subject is well fed, and hydrated. She is also given ample room for sleep, and freedom to walk where she pleases,” Entrapta spoke.

“It’s a disgrace, isn’t it?” Hordak responded, his eyes still on the screen.

“What do you mean?” Entrapta asked.

Hordak gestured to Catra on the screen, “All of these comforts have made Catra weak! She is living like a princess and she dares to cry??”

Entrapta shrugged, “Well, pregnancy can cause the hormones to increase, so...to be honest I think she’d be acting this way no matter where she was.”

Hordak sighed, and went over to his throne to contemplate. “For your sake, Entrapta, I hope this experiment works. Tell me, is there any chance it’ll fail?” he asked coldly.

The purple haired princess swallowed. “There’s always a chance that any experiment could fail. The babies could be born prematurely, or worse, stillborn. There’s a chance that Catra might have a miscarriage. There are so many unknown variables, so yes, there is a chance this could fail.”

Hordak thought about this for some time before finally saying, “Your honesty is appreciated, Entrapta.”

*****  
When Catra woke up several hours later, she could see Scorpia looking out the window. “What’s out there?” Catra decided to ask.

“Hey! You’re awake! Are you? How are you feeling?” Scorpia asked.

Catra didn’t answer at first. She looked around the room and noticed that there were no feathers on floor. Had she dreamed up the entire thing? “I’m fine,” she lied.

“Catra, would you stop it?” Scorpia all but pleaded.

“Stop what?” Catra answered back.

“Stop acting like you’re fine!” Scorpia realized she was raising her voice and quickly lowered it, “I’m sorry Wild Cat. It’s just,”

“You’re in love with me,” Catra interrupted.

Scorpia’s face turned red, but fortunately it seemed that Catra wasn’t looking at her. “Was it, was it that obvious?” she asked weakly.

Catra looked at Scorpia, then let out a sigh, “I’ve always known you cared about me. I never actually thought you were in love with me.”

The next few minutes felt like hours. Neither one of them spoke as they were both lost in their own thoughts. Neither one of them knew what to do about the situation at hand, and it made both of them uneasy.

Catra didn’t know what to think about this whole revelation. She liked Scorpia as a friend, even if she did often times snap at her or tell her to go away. It was a defense mechanism more than anything. Her so called best friend had abandoned her. Who was to say that Scorpia wouldn’t do the exact same thing? Sure, she was loyal, even to a fault, but that didn’t mean much in Catra’s eyes.

Scorpia meanwhile seemed pensive. Catra had figured it out. It should have been a relief but all things considered it wasn’t. In the back of her mind she always had a feeling that Catra only saw her as a friend. It was difficult having a feeling that you were 100 percent positive about something, but having to logically think that you might be wrong about it. Scorpia finally looked at Catra, and gave her a small smile.

“Right now what’s more important is making sure you’re being taken care of,” she said.

“Why? I’m just a pet, and now some experiment,” Catra muttered.

Scorpia gestured with her right pincer at Catra’s left side. Catra understood what she meant and nodded her head, giving Scorpia permission to sit next to her. The taller woman walked over to the bed and sat next to Catra. “You are neither one of those things,” she said gently.

Catra scoffed, “Yeah? It’s hard to believe that when that’s what you were told your entire life.”

“Was it Hordak? I thought he liked you, well until all this happened.”

Catra growled. She had been trying her best to forget about certain painful memories. She thought she had succeeded but they only came back in full force. Her eyes stung with tears that threatened to fall, and this did not go unnoticed by Scorpia.

“Hey, hey, it’s going to be alright,” Scorpia soothed.

“It was Shadow Weaver!” Catra cried, “No matter what I did I was never good enough for her! You know what the miserable old woman told me when I confronted her?” she scoffed.

“No, what?”

Catra sniffed, “That I reminded her of herself. That because things weren’t easy for her then they shouldn’t be easy for me now,” and she started laughing, “You don’t fucking beat a 7 year old kid for dropping a plate.”

That was only one instance, but Catra didn’t feel like going into all the sordid details. After all, what good would that do? She had to remain strong, and in her mind she was already showing too much weakness. Even so, there was a part of her that was tired; a part of her that didn’t want to be strong.

Scorpia shook her head slowly, then opened her arms up to Catra, just in case the feline wanted a hug. She expected that Catra would decline the offer, so she was a little surprised when Catra cuddled up against her, her head on her chest. Scorpia gently wrapped her arms around the other woman, and slowly rubbed her back using slow circular motions. This continued for the next half-hour, neither one saying anything.

“I need to ask you something,” Catra finally broke the silence again.

“Hmm?”

“How did you find me?” Catra asked.

She lifted her head away from Scorpia, and twisted her body to better look at her friend. 

“They uhh, hoo boy,” Scorpia said nervously.

This did not sit well with Catra and she was starting to get nervous again. “What? Just answer me!”

“The day I found you, it was because Entrapta wanted me to be one of your mates,” Scorpia confessed, then continued, “There was no way I could ever do something like that.”

Catra just blinked at her. “Wait, how?”

“How what?” Scorpia asked, actually not understanding what Catra was asking.

“How were you supposed to be my other mate?” Catra asked.  
“Oh! That! Right, when I was born they had me disignated male at birth. I’m a transwoman,” Scorpia explained.

“Oh,” Catra said, “Huh, whatever, that’s cool,” she concluded. 

A sense of relief washed over Scorpia, because she wasn’t entirely sure how Catra would take it. It seemed she was taking it rather well, she was curling up against her once more, and once again Scorpia had her arms around her, gently rubbing her back. It wasn’t long before Catra was asleep again. Scorpia waited till she heard Catra snoring before she gently lifted her up, and placed her on the bed. She gently placed a cover on top of Catra before heading over to the chair to read a book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in the last chapter I said I would have Catra confront both Scorpia, and Adora, but that of course didn't happen. Not to worry because Catra will talk to Adora in the next chapter.


	9. I Loved You At Your Darkest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Angella have another talk. Catra and Adora finally have a heart to heart.
> 
> Chapter title from the Behemoth album of the same name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for mentions of rape flashback.

Queen Angella had wanted to speak to Catra for some time now, but had thought it best to wait until the young woman had calmed down. Her reasons for doing so weren’t entirely for Catra’s benefit, but for her own as well. The way Catra had spoken to her just yesterday was disturbing to say the least, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. Now here she was, rapping at Catra and Scorpia’s door before opening it.

“Hello Catra, how are you feeling today?”

Catra shrugged, “I guess, ok. Why?” she added cautiously.

“I was wanting to speak to you about some matters. I thought that perhaps we could have breakfast while we talked,” Angella spoke calmly.

Catra smirked, “Wow, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered, but I think you might be a little too old for me.”

Angella clasped the bridge of her nose between her fingers and muttered something under her breath. “Or, if you prefer,” she lifted her head back up to look at Catra, and let her hand fall to her side, “We can talk here.”

Catra sat down on the bed, and looked up at Angella, “I don’t have a choice do I?”

“I’m afraid not,” Angella spoke.

She sat on the bed next to Catra, but kept a good distance between the two of them. She noticed that Catra was being leary of her, and after what had transpired yesterday evening she had to wonder who from the Horde would have caused such an effect. Yet, of course, another part of her wondered why she should bother caring about a Horde soldier.

“Are we going to talk, or are you just going to stare at me?” Catra asked sharply.

“Catra, I must be perfectly honest with you. I still don’t trust you, and Scorpia,” Angella answered.

Catra rolled her eyes, “The feeling is mutual, at least on my end. I can’t speak for Scorpia.”

“Tell me, have you had any dreams lately?” Angella then asked, wanting to get to the matter at hand.

Unfortunately this caused Catra to go on the defensive, “So what if I have? It’s not any of your business!” she hissed.

“It is my business when your friend is concerned about you running back to the Horde!” Angella raised her voice, and immediately regretted it.

Catra snarled, “Nice game you’ve got going. So far the only difference between you and Shadow Weaver is that you’re not an ugly old hag. Oh and I guess you don’t use shadow magic, but what do I know?”

Angella’s eyes widened just slightly at the mention of Shadow Weaver. Micah had once talked about her with a tone of bittersweetness. She recalled him telling her that a lot of what he had learned, he had learned from Shadow Weaver, or Light Spinner as she was once called. The queen looked at Catra. Had Shadow Weaver been part of the cause of her suffering? Perhaps, however, Shadow Weaver was only a strict disciplinarian and Catra simply didn’t like rules? There had to be a logical explanation. A logical explanation for what though?

“Scorpia is concerned for you,” she finally said.

“When is she not?” Catra muttered.

“She is under the impression that you’ll go back to the Horde believing that you belong to the one who made you pregnant,” Angella answered softly.

Catra’s eyes went wide, “How did you know?” she growled, “I am not pregnant! ”

Angella looked at her with pity which caused Catra to turn away. “Whatever, remind me never to tell Scorpia about any dreams I have. Anyway, I’m not fucking stupid.”

“I didn’t say you were,” Angella offered.

“Oh no, Catra! You might run off to the Horde to be with the hairy bastard that raped you! Oooh!” Catra mocked, “I mention some beast to Scorpia, and of course that’s the conclusion she comes to!” She finally looked at Angella, “Grizzlor wasn’t in that dream, it was someone else.”

Angella felt a sense of relief wash over her, but she was still concerned for Catra. “I won’t ask you who it was,” she spoke.

“Good, because I wouldn’t tell you,” Catra said. “Listen, I’m still tired, so can we cut this short?”

“Yes, I’ll have someone bring you breakfast,” Angella answered.

She wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought she heard Catra mutter a “thank you.”

*****  
Oh, First Ones, what am I doing? Adora had volunteered to bring Catra her breakfast. In truth she was wanting to talk with Catra and this gave her a perfect excuse to finally see her. Not that she was avoiding Catra on purpose, no, but she just didn’t know what to say to the girl that used to be her best friend for the past 18 years and was now supposed to be her enemy. Holding the tray in one arm, Adora knocked on the door before letting herself in.

“Hey Adora,” Catra said with an empty smirk.

Adora set the tray of breakfast foods down; a stack of hotcakes for her, a dish of butter and syrup for said cakes; and something rolled in a large flat piece of bread. “Hi, Catra, I brought you breakfast,”

Catra took the mystery second item and sniffed it, “What is this?” she tore a chunk of the bread off and took a taste. It was rather bland, but maybe the rest of it would be better?

“I don’t know what they call it, but the bread is supposed to hold things in it,” Adora explained.

“So, a sandwich?” Catra asked before taking a nibble, and then a bigger bite.

An explosion of flavor hit her senses causing the feline to feel overwhelmed. After chewing the bite she put her meal down, “so why are you here? And don’t tell me it’s to serve me breakfast, because we both know that’s bullshit.”

Adora sat down, and started cutting her hotcakes. “I wanted to see you. I think we need to talk.”

Catra glared, “Talk about what? What’s there to talk about? Ooh, let me guess! You turned into She Ra and beat up Horde members? Wow, color me impressed!”

“Does everything with you have to be a battle?” Adora asked.

Catra took another bite of her breakfast and chewed angrily, “I don’t know. Like I said, what is there to talk about? And don’t you fucking say anything about me being pregnant.”

“Wait, you’re-”

“No!” Catra interrupted, “Queen Angel Dust seems to think I am.”

“How do you know you’re not?” Adora asked gently.

Catra ignored her question and continued to eat her breakfast, “Wow, this is good,” she said with her mouth full.

Adora smiled at her, “I know you have a hard time tasting things that are sweet,” she said.  
Catra finished the last of her meal. “Why, why even remember a detail like that?” Catra asked.

“Because you’re, I mean,” she looked away sadly, “You were my best friend.”

“Yeah, well, I guess shit happens. You found a magical sword and suddenly I wasn’t important enough to you,” Catra answered back.

Adora glared at Catra, “and what was I supposed to do huh? Let the Horde kill innocent people? Let them destroy a village of innocent people??”

Catra folded her ears back and seething with rage said, “We were supposed to stick together, keep each other safe.”

“I asked you to come with me!” Adora cried out.

“And what?” Catra snapped, “Join the Rebellion with you? Oh hi, this is my friend Catra, she doesn’t turn into anything cool like I do, but she’s fun to pet!”

Adora was getting tired of this. “Stop putting words in my mouth! I never once saw you as my pet!”

Catra rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Yeah, but let’s be real here, Adora, Shadow Weaver told you I was and deep down I think you believed her.”

“No, that’s not true, and what about you?” Adora seethed.

“What about me?” Catra asked.

“You go on and on about me abandoning you but what about when you abandoned me in that First Ones temple? Fine, okay? I abandoned you but I didn’t leave you to die!”

Something inside of Catra snapped. She lunged at Adora, knocking the blonde down on her back. “Didn’t leave me to die, huh? You are so fucking stupid!” she yelled.

“Get off of me!” Adora shouted, but she saw that Catra was starting to cry, “You’re crying.”

“I am not!” Catra removed herself from Adora and quickly turned away from her. “Did you ever once consider what Shadow Weaver would have done to me if I didn’t bring you back? I mean, I’m actually surprised she didn’t right out kill me,” she laughed, “guess I was too useful for her to do so.”

Adora stepped closer to Catra, but Catra just took another step away from her. “If I am pregnant, and I’m not, I know what’s going to happen. The Rebellion will take my child, then probably ship me off to Beast Island.”

“Catra…”

The feline slumped down on the bed and curled up into a ball. Adora sat next to her, and gently touched her arm. “They will. I’m still the enemy. I’m surprised they haven’t locked me in the dungeon.”

“Catra...do you still want to be with the Horde?” Adora asked.

Catra froze, flashbacks of those two days flashed through her mind. They intermingled, a terrible puzzle of all mismatched pieces. Entrapta injecting her. Hordak calling her a lowly beast. The feeling of being aroused so much that she was begging for it. A painful sob racked her body. “I don’t know what I want,” she choked.

Adora reached over to rub her upper back, slowly so as not to startle her. She used slow circular motions to calm Catra down. She absolutely could not imagine how Catra was feeling. The other woman’s crying had calmed down quite a bit, and soon it was just the occasional sniffing. 

“What if I am pregnant? What am I going to do? I can’t raise a child, and I-I don’t want the Horde to have it!” Catra confessed.

“We’ll figure it out. Bow and Glimmer did bring up something,” Adora mentioned cautiously.

Catra lifted her head, and twisted her body to get a better look at Adora. “What’s that?”

“Do you really want to have the baby?” Adora asked.

Catra frowned, “What are you implying? It’s not like I have a choice, do I?”

“Here you do, and whatever decision you make, I’ll be behind you all the way,” Adora answered.

Catra looked down, then back at Adora. She wanted to believe her so fucking much, but could she? “Yeah, sure, whatever,” she finally said.

“Do you want me to go, let you get some rest?” Adora asked.

Catra thought for a moment, “No, you can stay if you want. I’m just going to sleep so I won’t be thrilling company.”

“That’s alright,” Adora said, and she resumed rubbing Catra’s back.  
She wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought she could hear Catra purring in her sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wound up rewriting the Adora and Catra scene at least two, maybe three times. In the original version Catra was going to let Adora know that she had heard the conversation between her and Bow. 
> 
> And prepare for another bizarre dream next chapter.


	10. From out of nowhere you came strong as stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has another dream about She Ra and drops a bombshell in her sleep. Her and Adora have another talk.
> 
> Title from the song "Safe Home" by Anthrax

_”Adora, where exactly are we going?” Catra asked._

_For some reason she was behind Adora with her arms wrapped around the other woman’s waist. The two of them were on top of a large beast which was running at an impossible speed, yet when Catra looked around nothing was moving. Adora never did answer her, which annoyed Catra to no end._

_“The silent treatment? Really, Adora?” she asked with bitter sarcasm._

_Finally they stopped inside of the mouth of a cave. It was dark inside, save for the scattering of luminescent plants which bathed the cave in a slow shifting glow of blue and orange. Adora vaulted off of her steed, then offered a hand to Catra._

_“Okay, why are you naked?” Catra asked, allowing Adora to help her down. “I mean, I gotta say, you’re pretty hot, but this is weird.”_

_Adora just pointed behind Catra. Catra turned around and saw their reflections. Both of them were naked. Catra’s cheeks burned red. “Adora? Why are we both naked?”_

_“I think you know why,” Adora whispered in Catra’s ear, causing the feline to shiver._

_“Is it, do I want this Adora?” Catra asked._

_Wait, what was it that she didn’t know if she wanted or not? Everything went dark, and when she came to again she was on top of Adora. “Wait, did we?” Catra asked._

_Did what?_

_“No, not yet,” Adora said while stroking the left side of Catra’s face._

_Catra tilted her head against the touch and started purring. “I want something,” she whispered._

_“I know you do. I don’t know what,” Adora answered._

_“I want you,” Catra finally confessed._

_Adora laid the two of them down so they were on their sides facing each other. She brushed a lock of hair away from Catra’s face. “Are you sure?”_

_Was she? She didn’t feel an extreme amount of arousal, maybe just the normal amount. She pressed herself closer to Adora, her head fitting within her throat and chest. She was confused, and maybe she should be giving Scorpia a chance? “I want you,” she mumbled._

_She could feel Adora rubbing her back, and she started purring again. Adora kissed the top of her head. “Why do you want me?” she asked._

_“‘Cause you love me, and I want to feel loved,” Catra admitted, tears running down her cheeks._

_“But do you love me?” Adora asked._

_“I love you, Adora.”_

“I love you, Adora,” Catra said in her sleep.

Adora, who’d been talking to Scorpia about the situation at hand, was somewhat perturbed by Catra’s sleep confession. She glanced over at Scorpia who had an unreadable expression on her face. “Hey, I’m sure she doesn’t mean it,” Adora said in an attempt to comfort Scorpia.

“Ahh, naaah, probably not. I’m pretty good at like being able to tell things. I think she does love you. Pretty sure of it, actually,” Scorpia answered.

“Yeah, but you’re in love with her,” Adora replied.

Scorpia just shrugged, “You can’t force someone to love you.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point,” Adora added, “Will you be okay though?”

Scorpia just laughed, “Oh yeah, of course! Anyway, I’m going to leave you two alone.”

She was out the door. While she wasn’t crying she did feel a strong sense of disappointment. Ahh well, it was what it was and there was no use crying over it. Besides, Catra still needed a friend or two, and Scorpia was not about to slack off in that department. Having made herself feel better, Scorpia decided to head to the library to find the second book in the series she had started.

*****  
_No._

_This couldn’t be happening._

_No. No no no nonononono._

_NO!_

_“Catra! It’s so good to see you back!” a very familiar voice rang next to Catra, yet also far away._

_Catra tried to speak, but something was stopping her. Hell, she couldn’t even move!_

_“So, the good news is, your children have all grown up to be some of the best soldiers the Horde has ever seen!” the voice said._

_Wait, it was Entrapta wasn’t it?_

_Wait, children? As in plural? How many did she have?_

_“You’ve definitely raised morale as well! You should see how hard they train if they think they have a chance with you!”_

_Catra wanted to vomit, but instead she just cried._

_“Lay a finger upon her and I swear by the First Ones the last thing you will ever see is my sword.”_

_Was that?_

_She Ra? Adora? Why did Catra consider them the same person? Also why the fuck was she naked?_

_“But she’s useful now!” Entrapta said urgently._

_Catra didn’t have time to react before it seemed that Entrapta just exploded in a bloody mist. Catra stared at the now blood drenched Adora. “Adora, what the fuck??” she yelled._

_Adora just took her hand and led her away from the lab; into corridors that were on fire yet the flames didn’t hurt them. Hand in hand they walked until everything went dark._

*****  
Catra didn’t open her eyes at first. She was processing the rather bizarre dream she just had. Okay, so, she had feelings of some kind for Adora. Slowly she opened her eyes and noticed that Adora was in the room, sitting where Scorpia usually sat. 

“Where’s Scorpia?” Catra asked groggily.

“She’s in the library,” Adora answered, “How did you sleep?”

“Other than the stupid dreams I had? Yeah, I slept okay,” Catra answered.

She sat up in bed, and Adora sat next to her. “Do you want to talk about them?” she asked.

“No,” Catra answered though she seemed unsure, “I mean, I-URGH!! Look last time I told someone about my dreams they took it way out of context!” Catra snarled.

“Well that was a dumb thing of them to do,” Adora said.

A look of guilt came over Catra’s face. “Yeah, I know she meant well. Besides I didn’t tell the whole dream.”

She noticed that Adora was still looking at her, almost as if she was waiting for her to tell the entire story. Catra quickly turned her head away to escape Adora’s gaze. She soon felt a hand on her shoulder which caused her to tense up for a split second just before relaxing.

“If you don’t want to say anything that’s okay,” Adora reassured her.

Catra inhaled deeply, then exhaled, “It’s not that!” she turned back around to face Adora, “It’s that you’re in my dreams, and I don’t know why.”

 _Bullshit_ , Catra thought to herself. She knew exactly why Adora had been in her dreams lately.

“What are they about?” Adora asked with curiosity.

Catra groaned, “I don’t know! You’re always in your She-Ra form, always naked for some reason, and you ride a gigantic wolf.”

Adora just blinked, her mind processing what she had just heard, and all she said after a minute was, “I ride a wolf?”

“Surprised you went there and not to the whole you being naked thing,” Catra commented.

“Yeah, okay, that part is a little strange. Does anything happen?” the blonde asked.

Catra shook her head, then bit her lower lip just hard enough to cause an indent in her lower lip, but not enough to draw blood. “You know what the worst part of Entrapta’s stupid experiment is?”

“No, what?” Adora didn’t want to make any assumptions.

“She messed with me. She forced me into heat, and now...ugh, whatever, I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” she answered.

Adora could see tears start to form in Catra’s eyes. Using her right thumb she slowly brushed the tears away from Catra’s left eye. She did the same with her left thumb to Catra’s right eye. “What she did to you wasn’t right,” she whispered reassuringly.

Catra all but practically fell into Adora’s arms and begin to weep. Adora wrapped her arms around her in an embrace, and slowly stroked her hair. After half an hour or so, Catra had calmed down a little. “What am I going to do? I can’t go back to the Horde,” Catra asked.

“I wish you would reconsider joining the Rebellion,” Adora said.

Catra glared, but she was too tired to argue. “I can’t join something I don’t believe in. Besides, you really think they’d take me in?”

“They took me in,” Adora pointed out.

Catra scoffed, “Yeah, but you didn’t almost destroy their capital, or kidnap Angel Dust’s daughter.”

Adora sighed, “Yeah, you did some pretty shitty things, but the Rebellion is forgiving. I mean they’ve taken you in, and not as a prisoner. Think about it Catra, do you know what the Horde would do with someone in your situation?”

“Throw them in a cell, make them give birth to the baby, then take it away before executing the mother,” Catra muttered, “How can you be so sure the Rebellion won’t do the same thing?”

Adora shook her head. “Because we’re not the Horde.”

“Yeah! No shit!” Catra snapped.

“What I meant is that the Rebellion is compassionate. If you are pregnant, they won’t just throw you out,” Adora explained.

Catra sighed and rested her head against Adora’s chest, “I wish I could believe you Adora, I really do.”

Adora didn’t say anything to Catra, but just put her arms around Catra and held her. It was hard to tell what exactly was going on between her and Catra now. From what she had heard, and what Catra had told her, she played a prominent role in Catra’s dreams. She exhaled softly. In the end did a bunch of dreams mean anything?

Probably not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are going to really start picking up in the chapters to come.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra starts displaying some unusual habits. Adora helps out however she can. Glimmer talks to her mom about the baby. Hordak and Entrapta make plans, and Catra discovers something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a bit of tooth rotting fluff in it.

A couple of months had transpired since Catra and Adora’s second talk. Almost everything was business as usual, except that there was no denying that Catra was pregnant. When asked if she wanted to have the baby, Catra just said “Might as well,” and that was that. 

Adora was behind her decision 100 percent, even if a few of her friends weren’t so sure about Catra’s decision. 

“How is she even going to raise the baby?” Glimmer had asked.

“I don’t think she is. I think she wants to give it up for adoption,” Adora explained.

Glimmer sighed, but before she could say anything, Bow stopped her, “Glimmer, we did say that we’d support Catra in whatever decision she made.”

Glimmer frowned, “I know, but who’s going to adopt it?”

“I thought you were going to talk to your mom?” Adora questioned.

“I know! I know, look, I’ll go talk to her right now, okay?” Glimmer insisted.

Adora and Bow looked at one another then back at Glimmer. “Do you want us to come with you?” Bow asked.

Glimmer shook her head, “No, I’ll be fine, but thanks!”

*****  
Not only was Catra clearly showing (much to the confusion of just about everyone), but she had also developed some rather odd habits in the last two months. At first some of these habits had been irritating to the castle staff, but they soon learned to accept them. One such habit was that Catra would never sleep in the made-up bed. Every afternoon the maid would make up the bed, nice and pretty, and come evening Catra would destroy it. It wasn’t out of spite, or maliciousness that she did this however, it was something more out of instinct. She would move the covers around then start circling around on all fours. This would cause the blankets to shift around until they formed something of a small wall around her. When she was satisfied with her work, Catra would then curl up and sleep.

Her food cravings had also been a little weird as well. She was constantly craving what could only be described as ice cream with cuttlefish ink. One day Adora had made the mistake of trying a bite, and nearly gagged.

“Gross! How can you stand to eat this stuff?” Adora asked while handing the bowl to Catra.

She just shrugged, “I don’t know! There’s just something about it that I like.”  
“That’s fair,” Adora said.

She was now hanging around Catra more and more recently, and it soon got to the point where Adora was all but moved into Catra’s bedroom. Scorpia meanwhile was someplace else, but she didn’t mind the change much. She saw it as an opportunity to meet new people, something she really enjoyed doing.

The final noticeable change with Catra started recently. She was almost always horny which of course didn’t do her any favors. This time however, it wasn’t as bad as what Entrapta had done, but come day seven and Catra was extremely irritable. 

“Catra? What’s wrong?” Adora asked.

Catra had been crying out of stress and frustration. “It’s nothing, okay!? Shit, fuck fuck, I’m sorry!”

“Hey, it’s okay, do you need anything? Some of that ice cream you love so much?” Adora was sitting next to Catra.

“No,” Catra sighed.

What she wanted was something that she was too afraid to ask Adora for. They were just now starting to mend their friendship and Catra didn’t want to ruin that. “I’d do it myself, but I can’t exactly leave unsupervised. But, umm,” Catra hesitated.

“What do you need?” Adora asked.

Catra sighed, “Could you, I mean, could you,” her ears folded flat, and defeated she asked, “get me one of those sex toys from Plumeria?”

Adora noticed just how defeated Catra looked. “Hey, it’s alright. There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she said soothingly.

Catra couldn’t help but start crying once again. She hated crying in front of people, because crying signified weakness. Catra told herself she wasn’t weak, and she didn’t need to be crying. Crying was for extreme cases, and being agitated and horny was not an extreme case. “How can you say that Adora?”

“Say what?” Adora was confused.

“That there’s nothing to be ashamed of! How? You’d think I could use my fingers, but it won't be enough! Or maybe I could do what I did that one day, but I can’t!” Catra whined.

“Wait, what did you do?” Adora asked.

Catra’s fur immediately bristled up and she looked away from Adora out of embarrassment. She had just let the proverbial cat out of the bag and now she needed to get it back into the bag. “Nothing, it was nothing, ok?” she insisted.

Adora could tell that Catra was lying, but decided to drop the subject. “I would go, but the shop is closed until tomorrow,” she explained.

Catra just buried her face into the pillow and groaned. 

“Is it that bad?” Adora asked.

The feline gave her a tired look. “It’s not as bad as what Entrapta did, but it will be if I don’t do something,” she confessed.

Adora considered asking Catra if she wanted some help, but didn’t want to risk the friendship they had been rebuilding since they first talked. “Have you decided what you want to name the baby?” she asked.

“Switching the subject? But, I don’t know. It’s not like I want to name them Catra Jr,” she answered.

Adora let out a snort, “No, that is, I’m sorry but that is a terrible name!” she laughed.

“Oh and what would you suggest, Princess?” Catra snapped, though it didn’t have that much of a bite behind it.

Adora grinned, “Well, you could name it Kitra, Felinra, Lionra, Tigera, Ocelotra…”

“Okay, stop!” Catra laughed, “You’re just naming different types of cats and adding -ra at the end!”

The two of them started laughing together, something neither one of them had done with each other for a long time. Catra fell against Adora, still laughing at the utter ridiculousness of the names Adora had suggested. Adora was still laughing as well and didn’t notice that Catra had fell against her. When the laughing subsided, the two of them looked at each other in the eyes.

And that’s when Catra closed the distance between the two of them and gave Adora a small kiss on the lips. She slowly pulled away, “I didn’t mean to do that,” she said.

“So your lips just fell against mine?” Adora teased.

Catra’s face went red underneath the layer of thin fur. “Don’t read into it!” she insisted.

Adora smirked, “okay.”

Then it was Adora who closed the distance between the two of them, and kissed Catra on the lips. Catra adjusted herself so her body was facing Adora’s. When Adora started to pull away, Catra grabbed the back of her head and continued the kiss. At some point she slipped her tongue inside of Adora’s mouth and begin to feel around. Adora started to do the same. The contrast of smooth and rough elicited a shiver between the both of them. Finally they pulled away from each other.

“I guess my lips just fell against yours,” Adora teased.

Catra smirked, “And I guess my tongue just slipped inside of your mouth,” she teased right back.

Adora smiled, “How are you feeling?”

Catra shrugged, “I’ll manage, but sleep with me tonight?”

The blonde woman nodded, “okay, I think I can do that.”

“And don’t read into it. I’m not asking because I like you,” Catra stated seriously.

Adora rolled her eyes, but moved to lay down on her side to face Catra. “Yes, because I’m sure you’d totally ask someone you hate to sleep with you.”

Catra just stuck out her tongue part way which caused Adora to giggle again.

******  
“Hey Mom?” Glimmer asked, seeking her mom’s attention.

Queen Angella was at her desk looking over some documents when she heard her daughter. “What is it, Glimmer?” she asked, placing the folder of documents down on the desk.

“What’s going to happen to Catra’s baby after it’s born?” Glimmer questioned.

Angella gave Glimmer a perplexed look. “I think that’s entirely up to Catra,” she answered.

“Yeah, but what if she doesn’t want to raise the baby?” Glimmer questioned in return.

“What makes you think that?” Angella asked, though she too had a hunch about Catra’s desire to raise a child.  
Glimmer let out a sigh, “Adora talked to Catra, and Catra doesn’t think she’s ready to raise a child, but she doesn’t want the Horde to get the baby.”

Angella thought for a moment, then said, “I will think of something. In the meantime, please do me a favor and find Scorpia for me?”

“Wait, she’s missing?” Glimmer asked in a panic.

Angella smiled, “Oh no, she’s no doubt in the library, but I do wish to speak to her.”

“Okay, do you need her now?”

“No, not right now, but in an hour I will,” Queen Angella answered.

Glimmer gave a quick bow, “Got it!” and in a sparkly flash she was gone.

Angella looked at her desk, and closed her eyes. It would be so easy to tell Catra to figure out her own situations; but she was just a scared young woman in her last months as a teenager. How could she expect her to know how to raise a child when she was never taught how? Angella considered one solution, though she wasn’t entirely sure how the other party would feel about it. It was worth asking though, and if that fell through there was always the second option.

*****  
“How much longer until Catra gives, ugh, birth?” Hordak asked.

Both him, and Entrapta were working on the finishing touches to a small portal. Entrapta had explained to Hordak that it was usually best to start off small before going big. Before he could throw a fit about time, and not wasting resources, Entrapta pointed out that by going small at first, they could easily fix any problems.

“But if we start off big at first, and something goes wrong, and believe me something will go wrong, we will certainly have a lot of trouble fixing it!” Entrapta explained.

“Are you implying that my experiments are faulty?” Hordak asked.

“Well, yeah, I mean all experiments have the capability to be faulty. As for Catra...the gestation period of a human female is around nine months, except Catra’s not exactly human. Based on certain observations I say that Catra has another four months before giving birth.”

Hordak wanted to say something, but Entrapta always left him speechless. He wondered if she was from a different planet as well. How could something with her amount intelligence, bravado, and honesty hail from such a back-water planet? “In your opinion what should we do with the babies when we retrieve them?”  
“I would say, since we’re planning on retrieving Catra as well, we should let her help in the rearing the children.”

“That is a terrible, and useless idea!” Hordak growled.

Entrapta shook her head, “You obviously don’t know the first thing about babies do you?”

“Do you?” Hordak retorted.

“I know enough to understand that a baby should be with its mother,” Entrapta explained.

“What of the father?”

“Grizzlor? While his genes are quite impressive, and he has displayed commendable leadership skills, I honestly wouldn’t trust him to watch over my socket wrench,” Entrapta explained.

Hordak sighed, “This is a foolish idea, but we’ll do it.”

“Oh ye of little faith!”

*****  
Adora woke up in the middle of the night needing to pee, and real bad. Catra was semi curled up against her, head in the crook of her shoulder. Adora didn’t want to move Catra, but she really needed to use the bathroom. As carefully as she could, Adora lifted Catra’s head off of her shoulder and silently moved off of the bed. She walked to the bathroom to relieve herself.

Catra cracked one eye open, noticed the sliver of light coming from the bottom of the bathroom door, and exhaled in relief. She closed her eyes once more, but something out of the corner of her eyes caught her attention. Eyes now opened, Catra could see what appeared to be a blinking red light. “What?”

She slinked off the bed and made her way to the tiny red light. At finding the object she picked it up in her hand and started to examine it. After finding the Horde’s symbol on it, Catra threw the object against the wall. The object broke apart in three places and the light shut off.

“What’s going on? Why are you up?” Adora asked.

Fuming, Catra pointed at the destroyed device, and growled, “That fucking bitch was spying on me this whole time!”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The spybot is discovered, Bow retrieves information on it, Glimmer and Scorpia have a conversation, Adora and Catra get intimate.

Later that very same morning, Adora had informed Glimmer of what Catra had discovered. Though the intention was to not tell Queen Angella about the discovery just yet, the Queen had overheard everything. She demanded to have an audience with all those involved, including Scorpia. 

“You mean to inform me that you’ve uncovered a Horde spybot?” Queen Angella asked.

Adora glanced over at Catra who was stalking the floor, fuming, and muttering death threats towards Entrapta. She then turned to Queen Angella, and nodded. “Yes, your majesty. Catra discovered it much earlier this morning,” Adora explained.

“Catra, how did a spybot get into my castle?” Angella asked.

Catra saw this as an attack, and went on the defensive. “I don’t know! All I know is that it was made by Entrapta!”

Adora went to try and calm her friend down. “Mom, with all due respect I don’t think Catra knew anything about the spybot,” Glimmer came to Catra’s defense.

The queen glared at her daughter, but then relented. It would do none of them any good if she just accused Catra of doing something that perhaps she hadn’t even done. It would be like those terrible cliche plays she used to watch with Micah, the kind where the story’s problem could have been resolved in two minutes if the characters bothered to talk to one another.

“I’ll have Bow take a look at it, and see what he finds,” she finally answered.

“Thank you!” Adora exclaimed just before taking Catra’s hand and leading her off.

“Yeah, uhm, thanks,” Catra said.

*****  
“Oh this is bad! Real bad! Visual and audio surveillance has gone off line! Catra found my spybot and has destroyed it! This is bad Emily, real bad!” Entrapta exclaimed.

Emily let out a few sympathetic beeps and boops.

“You’re right, Emily! I should have had Kyle plant two of those bots! What was I thinking?” She asked her large spherical robot friend.

Once again Emily just beeped sadly, and gave Entrapta an affectionate nuzzle.

“Thank you Emily, I needed that. Now what do I tell Hordak? Yes, he thrives on honesty, so I should be honest with him!”  
“Honest about what?” Hordak asked.

Entrapta looked up at him. “So, Catra found the spybot and destroyed it.”

Hordak sighed, “What effect will this have on my plans?”

“Well, I won’t be able to tell how Catra is doing, and we might have to go in blind,” Entrapta explained.

“That’s fine. I’ll send Grizzlor, and Cobalt to retrieve the children and their mother in four months after she has given birth,” Hordak seemed relatively alright with the situation at hand.

Entrapta nodded her head. “Oh! Good news! I did some data analysis of the pre-beta portal prototype and I’m confident it’s ready for its first test run!”

“Is that so?” Hordak smiled, “Good, something is going right for once.”

*****  
“Okay, so I managed to mine out most of the audio and visual data from the spybot,” Bow explained.

“And?” Catra asked.

Bow continued, “The spybot was focused only on you Catra.”

“So it saw everything??” Catra snapped.

Scorpia went over to try and calm Catra down, “Hey, it’ll be alright, Wildcat.”

Catra just glared up at the taller woman. “It won’t be okay until I’m using that conniving perverted bitch as my own personal scratching post!”

The eyes of everyone else in the room went wide. “Woah! Okay, We’re all upset at her,” Glimmer started.

This proved to be a huge mistake. “Oh? You’re upset? Tell me Sparkles, did Entrapta have YOU tied down to a bed?”

“No, I just meant-” Glimmer started.

“And did she inject YOU with something that forces you into a state of agonizing arousal, not once, but twice??” Catra kept going.

“Look-” Glimmer was getting more and more flustered.

“And when you were too fucking horny to even think straight, did she bring in...whatever the fuck Grizzlor is??” Catra finished, glaring at Glimmer, and tears coming down her cheeks, “You don’t get to be upset at her,” she finished coldly before taking off.

The others looked stunned. “I didn’t mean to,” Glimmer said.

Adora sighed, “I know you didn’t. Let’s just give her some time, and then I’ll talk to her. Bow, will you tell Glimmer’s mom about what you found?”

“Yeah, sure thing,” Bow answered.

The group went their respective ways, with Glimmer and Scorpia staying in Bow’s room. “Hey, are you okay? Do you need a hug?” Scorpia asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, I just, UGH! I know I shouldn’t be upset at her, but it’s so hard not to!” Glimmer groaned.

Scorpia gave a sad smile, but opened up her arms to Glimmer. The much smaller girl relented and let Scorpia hug her. “Yeah, Wildcat can be a handful at times, and I think it’s like the pregnancy doing this, ya know?”

“What do you mean?” Glimmer asked.w

She was perfectly aware of how hormones could come into play during certain people’s time of the month, but she was still somewhat clueless about hormones and pregnancy.

“I just mean that Catra’s hormones must be through the roof! I don’t think she wants to use Entrapta as a scratching post, and I don’t think she meant to yell at you,” Scorpia answered.

Glimmer laughed, “I don’t blame her. How could Entrapta do something like that? I thought her and Catra got along, but then she does this?”

The two women sat down on the bed, both of them staring straight ahead. “Yeah, I was shocked too. I knew that there was something up with her, but I never imagined she’d do this,” Scorpia admitted.

Glimmer looked at Scorpia, “I didn’t think she could do something like that, but I guess it goes to show that sometimes you don’t really know a person as well as you think.”

“Boy is that ever true!” Scorpia laughed.

The room went quiet for a little while, then Glimmer decided to ask, “What are you going to do after Catra gives birth?”

“I’ll stick around for her. She’s my friend, I’m going to stick around for my friends,” she answered.

A worried look came over Glimmer’s face, “Do you think Catra is going to go back to the Horde?”

Scorpia chuckled, “I doubt it. She’s really a Wildcat, and I can’t see her just laying back. Naah, the only way she’d return is to usurp Hordak.”

Glimmer’s eyes went wide. Scorpia noticed this, and finished with, “But after what’s been going on I don’t imagine her taking over.”

“Are we talking about the same Catra?” Glimmer asked, smirking.

“Yeah, the very same one!” Scorpia laughed.

*****

After everything that had been going on, Catra still found herself wanting for sexual gratification. Since her fingers wouldn’t be enough, she decided to do what she had that one day. Knowing full well that Adora could come into the bedroom at anytime, Catra opted to use the bathing room. She would kill two proverbial birds with one stone as it were. By now Catra had become a pro at drawing her own baths, and had even discovered that certain scents affected her mood in different ways.

When everything was finally ready, Catra stepped into the tub and slowly sat down. Head rested on the bath pillow, Catra closed her eyes and thought of Adora. She could imagine the other woman in the tub with her, and that made her smile. This time around, the imagined Adora never spoke. Catra simply imagined being kissed by her, her body on top of her own, and her fingers inside of her. Catra slowly bucked her hips to match the rhythm of phantom fingers.

“Adora...yess, right there! Aaah! Hnnnnnng! Fuuuck!” she whined.

The orgasm she had was disappointing, and that frustrated her to no end. “Figures it wouldn’t work like it did before,” she muttered.

No longer wanting to stay in the tub, Catra quickly washed herself, rinsed off, and pulled the robe over her body before stepping out of the room. Her fur quickly bristled when she noticed that Adora was in the room.

“Adora?? How long were you in here?” Catra hoped that Adora had just stepped in, and had not heard her crying out her name.

“I’ve been here for the past thirty minutes,” Adora answered.

Catra’s ears fell flat, “So you heard?” she moved past Adora, and sat in the chair.

“Yes I did, and it’s alright, I mean...I guess it’s kind of flattering?” Adora smiled.

This only made Catra feel even more embarrassed. “It didn’t even work this time,” she commented bitterly.

Adora sat next to her, “What do you mean?”

The feline frowned, and looked at Adora. “Look, when Entrapta injected me with that crap I told myself that I wasn’t going to give in. It got pretty bad, and I...I imagined you in your She Ra form, fucking me,” she confessed at last.

Adora’s eyes went wide, “Wow! That’s,”

“Stupid? Perverted?” Catra interrupted.

Adora just shook her head, “No, it’s none of those things.”

“Then what is it?” Catra asked, “I’m genuinely curious.”

“Don’t you know that curiosity killed the cat?” Adora smirked.

Catra rolled her eyes, “Okay, first of all, where did you hear that stupid saying? And two, stop changing the subject!” she whined.

Adora only laughed, then when she calmed down enough she apologized, “I’m sorry, okay, and I guess it’s kind of flattering?” she admitted.

“Really?” Catra asked.

“Well yeah! I mean, knowing that you find me attractive is really something!” Adora grinned.

“Oh please, I think Angella’s rather hot too and I’m not getting off to her image.”

“I’m flattered,” Adora said.

The two of them were quiet, both in the same spacious seat yet so very close to each other. Catra nuzzled her head against the crook of Adora’s shoulder and neck. The blonde woman wrapped her arms around Catra, held her gently, and caressed her hair. Catra started to purr for a few moments before lifting up her head and gazing into Adora’s eyes. Soon the two of them were closing the distance between one another, their lips pressing against each other’s. Catra let out a soft moan against Adora’s mouth before pulling away.

A look of disappointment came over Catra when Adora got up from the chair. This however was replaced with startlement when Adora lifted her off of the chair, carefully, bridal style, and carried her over to the bed where she gently laid her down on her side. The robe Catra wore came loose, and she shrugged it off. Adora was soon lying alongside Catra as well, running the tips of her fingers over the fur that graced Catra’s arm. The cat girl shuddered, then whined softly.

“Are you okay?” Adora asked.

Eyes half-lidded, Catra whispered, “I need you.”

“How?” Adora asked.

Catra groaned. “I want you to fuck me, Adora!”

Adora smiled, but she wanted to make sure. “Are you sure? Absolutely positive?”

“Don’t!” Catra growled, baring her fangs, “If I didn’t want this I would have never kissed you, gotten this close to you.”

“Alright, you made your point,” Adora said just before giving Catra a deep and passionate kiss.

Catra shifted to lie on her back, and Adora shifted to remain close to her side. Adora sat up and removed her jacket and shirt, exposing the make-shift bra underneath. Catra pawed at her breasts, eager to remove the coverings, but Adora lightly and playfully smacked her hand away. Catra gave a faux insulted look which made Adora giggle. Before things could get off course, Adora carefully removed the rest of the robe that Catra had been wearing, and gazed at her swollen belly.

“You’re so beautiful,” she whispered.

“Shut the fuck up,” Catra growled playfully.

Adora used the tip of her index finger to slowly trace along the bump of Catra’s belly, then just to the entrance of Catra’s core. “Wow, you weren’t lying,” Adora whispered upon feeling the permeating slickness coming from Catra.

The feline let out a soft mew and arched her hips to try and get some friction against Adora’s fingers. Though it would have been easy for Adora to tease the other woman, this would have been just a touch too cruel. Instead, Adora commanded Catra to lay back. She did so, but an image flashed in her mind and with a startled cry she bolted up.

“Catra, what’s wrong?” Adora asked.

Catra looked at Adora. “I ruined it, didn’t I?” she asked with a shaky laugh of sorts.

Adora tentatively put her hand on Catra’s shoulder, “No, you didn’t. Not at all. Let’s stop okay?”

Catra gave her a sad look, but relented. “I just don’t think I can lie on my back,” she confessed.

Adora nodded. It made sense that that would trigger something in Catra. “Okay, we won’t do that. How are you doing?”

Catra looked at Adora, then looked away. “Is this going to happen every time? Am I going to get images flashing in my head?”

Adora didn’t know what to say. She cradled Catra against her, and stroked her hair. “Do you want something to eat?” she asked after a few moments.

Catra nodded her head. Adora got off of the bed and dressed herself. “Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah, sure,” Catra started. “Thanks, Adora.”

Adora smiled at her before leaving the room. Catra smiled back before curling up and resting her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should apologize for teasing with the smut.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has another dream, her and Adora talk about things, and Angella meets with a certain person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains smut. Granted it's dream smut, but still.

_Catra opens her eyes slowly. Everything feels hazy, like she’s in the middle of a blissful dream. Everything feels so good, especially her lower regions. Eternia, why does she feel so good? She looks to her left, then her right and she’s pressed against a cavern wall, but also somehow there’s a village in it. Catra looks down, tail twitching, and sees Adora in her She Ra form. Catra discerns that she’s sitting on top of her shoulders, and Adora is doing something to her._

_“Adora? What are you doing?”_

_Whatever it is that Adora is doing to Catra she keeps doing it. Oh Eternia, what is she doing? It begins to dawn on Catra that Adora is eating her out. Catra lets out a gasp of pleasure when she feels Adora gently sucking on her clit. “Adora, ahh! Adora!” she moans._

_Adora stops sucking on her clit and maneuvers her tongue inside of Catra’s core and alternates between soft languid circles all around and quicker thrusting and lapping of her core. Catra bites her lower lip to stop herself from screaming. She’d use her fist to block the noise but she worries that if she doesn’t hold onto Adora, she’ll fall. Adora continues not even getting tired despite holding Catra on her shoulders._

_Wanting more, Catra proceeds to hump against Adora’s face. She wants more, more friction, more of what Adora is doing to her. The blonde seems to understand what the cat girl wants. Her ministrations become faster and rougher. It isn’t long before Catra is screaming out Adora’s name as her body trembles. She feels Adora lapping up the juices from her center, and rides her orgasm out._

********************  
“Catra?” Adora tries to wake up the sleeping woman.

Catra doesn’t reply, and Adora figures that she must be in the middle of a very good dream. The biggest problem with the scenario is that Catra had latched onto Adora’s side during her sleep and at one point had started humping her. Adora sighs and shakes Catra gently. Finally the sleeping girl wakes up, but when she notices the position she’s in, Catra understandably freaks out.

“What the fuck??” She yells.

Adora sighed, “Judging by the way you were humping me and yelling my name, you must have been dreaming.”

Catra recalled the dream she had just had and looked away from Adora with embarrassment. “Ugh, great. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“I know you didn’t,” Adora reassures Catra, “But I am definitely getting you that toy later today,” she adds.

A smile forms on Catra’s face. “Thanks Adora, I really appreciate it.”

The two of them lay down next to each other. It’s too early for them to get up, yet neither one of them is tired. After a couple of minutes Catra breaks the silence. “I always wondered why I was named Catra.”

Adora shifts herself to prop herself on her elbow and looks at Catra. For some reason in the very back of her mind she can’t help but feel that Catra isn’t the girl’s real name.

“I guess I should be happy that Shadow Weaver didn’t name me something like Strayra, or Ugly Kitten I Found One Day, or Piece of Shit,” Catra mocks with a bit of humor and bitterness.

It’s enough to make Adora chuckle. “I don’t think anyone knows how to really name anything. I mean is it just me or does the trend seem to be to either give someone a name that describes them, or...doing the same thing but adding an a at the end?”

“Yeesh, sounds to me like Kyle got the better end of the stick in that department,” Catra laughs. “If I have a girl I want her name to be Girl, or Girla,”

“And if it’s a boy?” Adora asks.

“Boy, or Boya,” Catra teases.

“Ooh how original!” Adora teases right back.

Catra thinks for a moment, “What if I wanted to be really ironic? Name them something like Dogra, or Watera?”

“Catra, are you thinking of keeping the baby?” Adora asks.

The question makes Catra frown, “I don’t know. I want them to have a good life and I don’t think I can provide that. Not yet at least.”

Adora nods her head. “Do you remember anything about your childhood? I mean before you were taken in by the Horde?” she asks.

“I don’t. I don’t even remember my own mother or father,” she admits.

Adora thinks it’s sad how Catra never knew her parents. Adora never knew her parents either, but at least she was found as a baby. Catra wasn’t found until she was a toddler, and that makes Adora see Catra in a new sort of light. She always knew that Catra was strong, but it never quite dawned on her just how strong Catra was. It hadn’t dawned on her how strong Catra had to be.

“You got quiet, dork,” Catra says.

Adora just laughs, “Ha, sorry, I was just thinking about what to have for breakfast in the morning.”

“Smooth, Adora, real smooth,” Catra blips her tongue out, “I want bacon and eggs.”

“I think we can arrange that,” Adora says.

The two girls snuggle up against one another and drift off to sleep once more.

*****  
Over on the outskirts of Seaworthy, at an old decrepit bar, Queen Angella, disguised as a commoner, waits for someone. She sits idly, not looking around, not wishing to draw attention to herself. In a few moments a figure dressed in rags comes in front of her.

“Who rules the blind?” Angella asks.

“In the kingdom of the blind, no one is king,” the figure answers.

It’s him. Angella gestures for them to sit down, and the figure does so.

“I hear you have news for me, what might it be?”

“When your wife was still alive I made a promise to her, that should anything happen to her I would take care of her daughter,” Angella says.

The figure scratches his furry chin, and cackles, “Ahh, such a useless promise when the little one died too.”

“She’s not dead,” Angella admits.

“You know better than to speak the serpent’s tongue to me!” he hisses.

Angella breathes in deeply. “Your daughter, Azar is still alive, and she may need your help.”

“How? How is this the first I am hearing of this? For years I have been lead to believe that my beloved Azar was slaughtered by the Horde along with my beloved C’yra!” he tries not to raise his voice but it still comes off a touch loud.  
Fortunately the patrons of the bar don’t seem to care about anything other than getting drunk. Angella gives the red haired Magicat a sympathetic look. “I didn’t know until recently either. Azar was taken in by the Horde after C’yra was murdered.”

His complexion seems to go pale at the mention of his daughter being raised by the Horde. “By Half-Moon’s light! But, she is not with them now, I can sense it.”

Angella just nods her head, “No, she is currently in Brightmoon Castle,” she admits.

“How strange, when did this happen?” he asks.

“She’s been living there for the past two and a half months now.”

He smirks, “You never seemed the type to be so welcoming to Horde members.”

The queen sighs, and decides that perhaps she should tell him what lead to his daughter staying in Brightmoon Castle. She tells him that his daughter goes by the name Catra, a name that makes him roll his eyes. She informs him that the Horde did something terrible to his daughter and that she is now pregnant. After hearing this information he closes his eyes, and laughs bitterly.

“Ahh, to soon be a grandfather by deceit. Have you news of the...father?” he spits out that last word as though it were something foul tasting.

“Only that his name is Grizzlor,” Angella answers. 

The Magicat’s ears fold back at the name, but he otherwise retains his composure. “Thank you, Angella. It pains me that I may not see my daughter now, but it would do us no good.”

“I hate to admit that you are right, but there is another matter as well.”

“Yes?”

“Azar is still young, and has expressed concern for her unborn child. She doesn’t think she’ll be a good mother, and she will not let the Horde take the child either,” Angella explains.

“Good, those monsters do not deserve the child. Magicats make excellent parents,” he sighs, “When raised in the proper situation. Tell me, what is it you suggest?”

Angella leans forward, “As I understand, Magicat pregnancies are shorter than the average Etherian’s. It’s time I think to discuss what should be done.”

“What is it you suggest?”

“She should have a part in her child’s life. It may be best if your kingdom adopts the child.”

“Ahh, yes! But Azar is still blind to her true origins. How will it work when she suddenly finds out she is lost royalty? You are forgetting that we Magicats are weary of cucumbers,” the last part is said with a sly smile followed by a chuckle.

Angella smiles at the joke, “I was hoping that we might arrange for you and Azar to meet. It will be difficult to convince her that you’re alive however.”

“Difficult indeed,” he contemplates for a moment, “How is Azar with magic?”

“Not good, from what I have been told her mother figure used magic to punish her.”

He thinks for a long time and seems to decide on something. “I may have her baby blanket somewhere. I only hope that the scent is enough to trigger something.”

“It may be your only chance, Baraz,” Angella admits.

Baraz softly grins. “Then it is a chance worth taking. Thank you, Angella, once again for letting me know.”

“You are welcome, Baraz.”

The two bow their heads then they part ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo! A little bit of world-building in the making. First of all, I recommend that anyone reading this fic read the fic Death Like Sleep since it's in that story where the circumstances of Catra's adoption are revealed.
> 
> Azar is Persian for fire.
> 
> Baraz is Persian for exalted.
> 
> We are also coming close to the end game here.
> 
> I appreciate all the views, kudos, and comments that I receive. For real, it makes me feel so awesome, so thank you all.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer and Scorpia have a friendly talk, Angella recalls the past, Catra receives a couple of presents, and shit starts to go down.

“Is it just me,” Glimmer started, “or does Catra’s pregnancy seem to be going quicker than normal?”

Scorpia scratched the back of her head with her pincer, and shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, I don’t think so? According to the books I’ve been reading in the library Magicats have a gestation period of like 4 maybe 4 and half months.”

“4 months??” Glimmer exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “That means that Catra only has a month and a half before she gives birth.”

“Or two months,” Scorpia helpfully pointed out.

The two girls were in Glimmer’s room mostly just hanging out, eating snacks, and talking about various things when the conversation had veered towards Catra and her pregnancy. Glimmer bit down on a piece caramel filled milk chocolate and chewed on it thoughtfully. Scorpia meanwhile was chewing on a piece of fruity candy. 

“So, ahh, this might be none of my business, but you and Bow are a thing, yeah?” Scorpia asked.

Glimmer covered her mouth and started giggling. “Me and Bow? No, we’re just friends! I mean, Bow is like a brother to me so it’d feel really awkward for us to date.”

“Ha ha, yeah, I can certainly understand that! Or I could if I had anyone that was like a sibling,” Scorpia admitted after swallowing her candy.

Now it was Glimmer’s turn to become inquisitive, “You don’t have any siblings?”

Scorpia shook her head, “I don’t think so? I don’t know, I never really knew my family truth be told. I mean I have like vague flashes of my parents but they’re all blurs, ya know?”

Glimmer shook her head. Her mother was still alive, and her father died when she was eight years old, so she still had clear memories of him. “I’m sorry, that sounds awful!”

“Hey, it’s alright! But heh, mind if we change the subject?” Scorpia asked.

“Oh sure, not a problem! Ugh, I really wish we had more people in my room,” she admitted.

“Why’s that?” Scorpia asked.

“Ever played the card game Bullshit?” Glimmer asked.

“Can’t say I have!” Scorpia answered enthusiastically, “How do you play?”  
Glimmer teleported to the bookshelf on the other side of the room, grabbed a deck of cards, and teleported back to her original spot. “It’s really a game for more than two people. It’s all about deception, and being sneaky and all that good stuff! I used to play it with Bow all the time, then we introduced Adora to the game and it was just a lot more fun with another person. I figure that maybe it’ll be way way more fun with a fourth person!”

Scorpia grinned, “That does sound like a fun game! We should all five of us definitely play it soon!”

“Wait, five?” Glimmer asked.

“Well, I think we should at least invite Catra to play. I wouldn’t want her to feel left out of the fun,” she admitted.

The purple haired halfling smiled, “Yeah, okay, I guess that makes sense. Adora’s at Plumeria getting something for Catra, and Bow’s over at his dads house, but I think all of us are free tomorrow, we could all get together then!”

“Hey, yeah, that sounds like a plan!” Scorpia exclaimed.

*****  
Queen Angella was in the throne room waiting for something, or someone. It had been three days since her talk with BAzar, and she knew that by now he should have sent one of his people with his daughter’s baby blanket. Angella knew she needed patience however. Her thoughts lingered on Catra, or rather Azar. When she had first heard of Catra she had assumed that she was just a Horde soldier and nothing more.

A few weeks back while looking through pictures of herself and Micah a certain photo had fallen to the floor. Angella had picked it up and looked at it. Written on the back were the words ‘To our beloved friend: Angella’

She flipped the photo over revealing two Magicats with their Magikitten. It was Queen C’yra and King Baraz with their daughter, Princess Azar. C’yra was a beautiful Magicat with gleaming silver fur, piercing amber eyes, and a midnight black mane. Her husband Baraz had fur the color of rustic red, striking blue eyes, and a fiery red mane. Then there was little Azar, no doubt only a couple of months old. Her eyes had only recently opened that week and they were her most striking feature. One was a blazing yellow color, while the other was a cool blue color.

While heterochromia wasn’t necessarily rare in regular cats, it was rare with Magicats; complete heterochromia was extremely rare.

At first Angella hadn’t made the connection between the kitten in the photo and Catra. It wasn’t until one of her recent visits with Catra that she had noticed the young woman’s eyes and made the connection. Eternia above she hoped that she was correct about this; otherwise she would never forgive herself for getting BAzar’s hopes up.

“Your Majesty, a representative from the Kingdom of Half Moon is here with an important delivery!”

It had finally arrived, Angella sat up straighter and answered, “Bring them in!”

A young Magicat delivery-boy was ushered in by the guard. He carried in his arms a package wrapped in brown paper. He carefully handed the package to Brightmoon’s Queen and a small bow. Angella accepted the package and gave the delivery boy a soft smile. “Thank you very much.”

The delivery-boy was soon escorted out by the guard. Now Angella just needed to deliver the package to Catra and hope that it triggered some sort of memories within her. She motioned for one of the guards to come over, and handed them the package. “Please make sure that this is delivered to Catra’s room right away,” she commanded.

“Yes, right away your majesty,” they spoke as they accepted the package from Angella.

*****  
Catra was in her quarters playing a game of Etherian Solitaire. She didn’t normally enjoy card games, especially single player card games, but this time around it was helping her to concentrate on something other than waiting for Adora. “Ha, looks like another winner!” she exclaimed.

She startled when she heard a loud knock on the door. “Fucking Despondos!” she cursed. 

Ears folded flat, and eyes slitted, Catra stepped over to the door. “This better be important!” she snarled as she opened the door.

“A delivery for you!” the guard handed Catra the brown paper package, turned around and left.

Catra shut the door behind her without thanking the guard. She looked at the package with a frown. Judging by the feel, Catra guessed that it was clothes of some sort, but who would send her clothes? She stepped over to her bed, sat down, and continued to examine the package. There was a fancy looking seal on the package; gold wax emblazoned with the image of what looked like a cat with a crescent moon behind its head. The moon was turned in such a way that it made it look as though the cat had horns. Catra scratched her head. During her entire stay with the Horde she had never seen this particular seal before.

“Guess I should see what’s in this stupid thing,” she grumbled before tearing into the package.

A look of confusion, bewilderment, and disappointed came across her face. Folded neatly was a small blanket, a rich purple in color, and judging by site alone, Catra guessed that the material was a soft flannel. With the tips of her fingers she felt the material and confirmed her initial guess. “Okay, who decided to give me this thing?”

Catra continued to examine the blanket, then she gave it a small sniff. Flashes of strange images came to her mind in rapid succession. A woman that looked like her but different. A man that looked like her but also different. Many people who looked like her. The woman saying the name “Azar.”

Catra frowned and took a slightly deeper inhale of the blanket. More images of the first two people. People screaming and running. A tiny voice yelling, “Mommy!”

“Wait…” Catra paused.

The images had gotten worse, more violent, and something inside of Catra told her that the images would only get worse, but that she needed to confront them. Hands shaking, Catra closed her eyes and inhaled in deep the scent of the blanket. Memories flashed through her mind like a distorted flip book.

“It’s little Princess Azar!” a young Magicat exclaimed.

“Uncle Tao!” was that Catra saying that?

Being in the arms of the Magicat woman from her first vision. “Hush little Azar, you must be silent.”

Who the fuck was this Azar, Catra wondered, and how come she could never actually see her?   
She was starting to wonder if Azar was actually her. After all, she was a child when Shadow Weaver adopted her, and not a baby like Adora was. Speaking of Adora, the young woman came into Catra’s room holding up a small bag.

“Hey, Catra,” she said with a mischievous grin, “I know I’ve had to go back to Plumeria for the past couple of days, but I think you’ll like what I got you!”

Catra glanced at Adora and gave a slight smile, “What is it?” she asked.

Adora sat on the bed next to Catra and immediately noticed the blanket. “Who gave you the blanket?”

Catra wanted to tell Adora that it was really none of her business, but the mood to be sarcastic far outweighed her need for privacy. “It was a gift from my secret lover, Rogelio,” she said feigning seriousness.

“Oh ha ha!” Adora lightly punched Catra in the shoulder.

“To be honest I don’t know who it’s from. Whenever I smell it though I get these images in my mind,” Catra admitted.

“Good ones, I hope?” Adora questioned.

Catra leaned and fell back against the bed. “People that look like me, maybe slightly different.”

Adora scooted so she was next to Catra, “Do you think maybe it’s your blanket from when you were a baby?”

Catra shrugged, “Maybe? But why give it to me now? Anyway I want to see what you got me!”

“Okay, okay, I have a feeling you’ll really like this,” she answered excitedly as she pulled out her present for Catra, “Ta da!”

“Underwear? Are you serious?” Catra asked, sounding very disappointed as she eyed the red silk underwear.

“Yeah, you’re right. I think I’d be disappointed as well if you got me something like this,” Adora admitted.

“Assuming I’d ever give you a gift,” Catra said coyly.

Adora returned Catra’s comment with a coy smirk of her own. “Did you want to fly solo, or not?” Adora asked.

Catra cocked a brow and returned Adora’s question with a question of her own. “What did you buy two different sex toys?”

“Maybe I did,” the blonde waggled her brows at the feline.

She then reached back into the bag and pulled out a black glove, and a wire attached to a small control box. Catra stared at the toy but said nothing. “So this can be used either solo or with a partner,” Adora explained to Catra while she plugged in the control box to the glove.

Catra focused on Adora as the other woman put the glove on her right hand, then proceeded to push a button on the control box. Immediately two of the fingers started to vibrate. Upon seeing this, Catra all but started to salivate as she imagined what could be done; how she could use it on herself, how Adora could use it on her, and how She Ra could use it. Catra shook her head at that thought, and this did not go unnoticed by Adora.  
“Is there something wrong?” Adora asked.

Catra blushed, “Nothing, nothing at all!” she insisted.

Adora took the glove off, and placed her hands over Catra’s, “Catra, you need to be honest with me. If there’s something you don’t like about this then please tell me?”

Catra pursed her lips in thought and started drumming her fingers against the top of the mattress. After some thinking she crawled over onto Adora’s lap and sat down. “Adora, I really want you to fuck me,” she whispered.

Adora looked down at the young Magicat, and asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, but,” she paused as she looked around the room, “Where in Despondos is your sword?”

Adora was confused, “It’s in my room, why?” 

Catra sighed and then smirked, “Damn it. Maybe next time?” she asked teasingly.

“Why do you want my sword? I mean, that seems a little-” suddenly it dawned on Adora what exactly Catra was wanting, “Ooh! Oh! You want me to-”

“Finally! You know you’re not as dense as you appear. Yes, I want you to fuck me as She Ra,” Catra answered.

“Yeah, we can do that. What do you want to do now?” Adora asked.

Without missing a beat, Catra leaned up and kissed Adora on the lips. Adora wrapped one arm around her waist, and with the other arm she wrapped around her shoulders. Catra deepened the kiss and wrapped her own arms around Adora’s shoulders. They pulled apart for a moment to get some air, but both of them resumed kissing after only half a minute. Adora ran her fingers through Catra’s mane scratching just above her ear. Catra immediately started purring which prompted Adora to keep scratching that area. Before she knew it, Catra was rubbing the top of her head against Adora’s throat. The blonde woman adjusted herself to get more comfortable which resulted in Catra pinning her down on the bed.

“Someone’s being feisty,” Adora remarked, smiling up at Catra.

Catra smiled back and moved to give Adora another kiss on the lips. No sooner did her lips touch Adora’s that a loud knock on the door caused her to bolt up. Adora quickly sat up as well, but the two of them weren’t able to move very far before the door creaked open.

“Fucking Despondos,” Catra muttered.  
“Hello, I hope I’m not disturbing anything,” Angella greeted the two of them.

Adora gave a sheepish grin as she answered, “Ha ha, ahhh, no! You haven’t interrupted anything!”

Catra rolled her eyes. Angella took one look at the two girls and cocked an eyebrow. She could tell by their closeness and Adora’s awkwardness that the two of them had been doing something. She decided not to press into the matter, at least for now.

“Catra, I believe you were given a package today?” The queen asked.

“Oh, the purple blanket that makes me hallucinate every time I smell it?” Catra gave a short laugh, “Yeah, weird gift, but I got it.”

Angella entered the room and looked at Adora. “Adora, would you mind giving Catra and I some privacy?”

“Oh sure, no problem! I err…” Adora stammered.

Catra quickly spoke up, “No, whatever it is you have to tell me, I want Adora with me.”

Angella sighed, “Very well.”

She closed the door and sat down on one of the plush chairs, though she still retained a regal and proper look to her. “I admit that I am not certain how exactly to tell you this,”

“So just say it,” Catra remarked.

Angella inhaled deeply then exhaled, “Very well. That blanket was the blanket you used to carry around as a child.”

Catra looked at the blanket, then at Angella, “Umm, no? Shadow Weaver would have never let me have a blanket like that.”

“What do you know about the Magicats, Catra?” Angella asked.

Catra shifted herself to move a bit away from Adora and leaned forward towards Angella. “Magicats? That they were an Etherian species that were wiped out by a deadly virus.”

“And who told you this?” Angella asked.

Catra leaned back, “Hordak and Shadow Weaver,” she stopped, “Wait, no, no, fuck no!”

“Yes, the Magicats are very much alive to this day,” Angella stated.

Adora then spoke up, “What? I’ve been to a lot of places and not once have I ever seen anyone like Catra!”

“That’s because the Magicats tend to hide. You only see them when they want you to see them.”

Catra crossed her arms over her chest and sulked, “Wow! Great! So what, I’m a Magicat that was abandoned to the Horde. Wooptey fucking doo.”

“That’s not the truth. It took me awhile to realize it as well, and I think maybe it would be best if I introduced you to someone,” Angella said.

Catra and Adora looked at each other. Adora just shrugged, so Catra looked at Angella, “Who?”

“Baraz, would you come in please?” Angella asked.

All three watched as the door opened and a feline figure stepped through the door. Adora and Catra’s eyes went wide, but Catra stayed in a state of bewilderment for a longer time. Baraz looked at his daughter and started to tear up. “It has been too long, but the Prince of Astral Light did not speak the serpent’s tongue after all.”

“What?” Catra asked, “Can you say that without sounding so bizarre?”

Baraz lowered his head, “Ahh of course, my apologies. It is good to see you after all these many years, Azar.”

Adora, Angella, and Baraz watched as Catra fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those confused about part of the ending, I've headcanoned Angella as being the angel known as Anael, who in some lore is known as the Prince of Astral Light. Baraz, being Baraz would of course use that title for her. 
> 
> Three more chapters to go! (I think)


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has a talk with her father.

When Catra came to she noticed that her surroundings were different. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about this location felt different from all the other locations of Castle Brightmoon. She could smell various types of flowers and herbs, and the only noise was that of rushing water. Catra propped herself up on her elbow to get a better look around. She was in a slightly smaller room, and it for the most part looked the same as the other living quarters. “Where am I?” she asked.

“This is one of the medical rooms. Queen Angella thought it’d be best if we brought you here,” Adora explained.

Catra furrowed her brow and asked, “Why? I’m feeling fine. I WAS feeling fine.”

“You fainted,” was all Adora said.

Catra rolled her eyes, and laughed, “Are you serious?” a quick look at Adora told Catra that she was in fact serious. “Ugh, fine, at least this beats that weird as fuck dream I just had. Something about my father coming to see me.”

“Ahh, that was no dream!” a slightly gravelly voice spoke.

Catra immediately turned her head to the source of the voice and hissed. “What do you want?”

Baraz looked a bit bashful but answered his daughter, “I had to come see you.”

Catra glared at the other Magicat, and scoffed, “You mean after gods know how long? Why now of all times?”

“Because, we all thought you were dead,” Baraz hung his head and sighed, “By the time we were able to…”

“Able to what? Just spit it out!” Catra pleaded.

Baraz looked at Catra. The inner pain he was still feeling after all these years was evident in his face. He could see the look of concern in his daughter’s eyes. “By the time we learned of your mother’s death you were long gone.”

Catra’s eyes went wide, “Wait, you mean? But how? What happened?” she demanded to know.

“There is much that we need to discuss, Azar,” he turned to Adora, “If you wouldn’t mind this is for her and my ears only.”

Adora shrugged and looked at Catra who just nodded her head. “I’ll catch up with you later,” she told Adora.  
Once Adora had left, Catra looked at Baraz and glared at him. “Ok, so tell me what the fuck is going on!”

“Ahh, so much like your mother,” he noted, unaware of the way Catra would take that.

“Yeah, my mother figure was an,” she paused, “Whatever, it’s not important, but I am nothing like her!”

Baraz smiled at the young woman, “No, you are like your real mother, I can already tell.”

“Great, so I’m like some woman that I never even knew and you came to this great conclusion after spending what? Five minutes with me?” Catra asked rather bitterly.

She was getting rather frustrated at this Baraz character. So far he had offered her nothing in the way of answers, yet he acted as though he had known her all her life. How dare he! How dare he barge into her life after all these years and what? Make amends? Apologize to her?

“I must apologize for being so sneaky. I’m sure that you have many questions, am I right?” he asked.

Catra looked at her nails, “Oh I have questions, and I want answers.”

“Very well. I am king Baraz of the kingdom of Halfmoon. Your mother was Queen C’yra, which makes you-”

“A princess, fan-fucking-tastic,” she glowered, “Wait, how come I’ve never heard of this Halfmoon before?” Catra asked.

“Yes, you are Princess Azar, and perhaps you’ve never heard of it because it doesn’t exist,” he explained to her.

Catra gave him a confused look that soon turned into one of contempt, “So in other words you’re a king of nothing.”

Baraz closed his eyes and inhaled, “It is more complicated than that, and I will give you more explanations soon.”

“Fine! Can you at least tell me why you never bothered looking for me?” Catra pleaded.

“By the time we were able to recover your mother’s body, you were long gone. We searched for you three days but in the end we had to stop.”

“Why?”  
“Whore-Dick wanted us wiped out. He especially wanted your mother slaughtered. He got his wish, and the vile scum who murdered her-” his ears folded back, then he relented, “I only pray that Ose and Saz show them no mercy in the hereafter.”

“You don’t need to say anymore,” Catra insisted.

She wasn’t in the mood to hear the details of her mother’s death. She could already tell from Baraz’s expressions and the way he talked that her mother’s death had been a cruel one. The very idea made her tear up but she quickly blinked away the forming tears. She looked at Baraz, and finally asked, “So what now?”

“What do you mean?” Baraz asked in return.

“Look, I appreciate you finding me, but let’s be real here. I doubt your kingdom is going to look so kindly upon someone who used to work for the Horde,” she answered simply.

Baraz leaned in close, “Ahh but you no longer work for them. Yes, often we cannot control the rivers we are tossed in.”

“Are you saying I had no choice in anything?” Catra queried.

Baraz grinned, “Can a tiger change its stripes?”

Catra placed her head in her hands and groaned. “Can’t you just give me a straight answer?” she pleaded, “How did you even find me?”

“Queen Angella told me,” he answered point blank, much to Catra’s shock.

“And how did she know?” She asked.

“Your mother and myself were close friends with her.”

Catra blinked. Everything for her was turning upside down, again. A few tears slipped unnoticed from her eyes until she felt them splash on her fur. “I need to go!” she snapped as she practically flew off her chair and raced out of the room.

She didn’t bother to look and see if Baraz might be following after her. The only thing on her mind was that she wanted something familiar to cling to when her world had once more become unfamiliar. When she arrived at her destination, she flung open the door and slammed it shut.

“Catra? What’s wrong? What happened?” Adora asked, getting up from the bed.

Catra practically flung herself at Adora, her hands grasping at Adora’s shirt, and face pressed against the blonde’s chest. Taken aback by this sudden display of affection, Adora wrapped her arms around Catra and stroked her hair. After standing in that position for a couple of minutes Catra finally pulled away.

“Thanks,” Catra muttered.

“Yeah, no problem, but what happened?” Adora asked.

Catra walked over to the chair and sat down. She was tired, and really didn’t feel like standing. “I guess it wasn’t enough that I had to get pregnant, now apparently I’m some lost princess,” she scoffed, bitterness in her voice.

“Wait, so you mean that guy that kind of looks like you is a king?” Adora asked, “But which kingdom?”

“Some place called Halfmoon, except it doesn’t” she made air quotes, “exist.”

Adora sat next to Catra, “Did he explain what he meant by that?”

The feline shook her head, “No, and he’s also really weird,” she said.

“How so?”

Catra sighed, and rested her head on Adora’s shoulder, “He doesn’t seem that upset that I used to work for Hordak. He just told me that we can’t control what rivers we’re tossed in and something about tiger stripes.”

Absentmindedly, Adora stroked Catra’s hair. “At least he’s understanding?” she offered.

“Which really bothers me. He told me that Hordak had my mom killed,” she said sadly.

She could feel Adora’s arms wrap around her and the feline adjusted herself to be closer. “I didn’t ask him how she was murdered, I know I couldn’t handle it now.”

“How are you doing with all this new information?” Adora asked.

Catra glared, but not at Adora, “I don’t know! I just...I want things to go back to the way they were, but I’m not stupid, I know that can’t happen.”

Neither one said anything for a long time. Adora didn’t know what to say or even if she should say anything, and Catra was still trying to process what was going on. Adora had thought about asking Catra how she felt knowing she was a princess, but decided it would be best not to. After about fifteen minutes of silence, Catra once again spoke up, “I’m surprised about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“That you haven’t begged me to join the Princess Posse,” Catra smirked.

Adora had thought about it. She knew that Catra would make a good addition to the alliance, but she wanted it to be Catra’s choice. “You’ve made it clear that you don’t want to join,” she said simply.

“No, I don’t,” but Catra sounded a touch unsure, “But maybe I should? I still don’t know what’s going to happen to me or my baby after it’s born.”

“What about your father?”

“You mean the one with a kingdom that doesn’t exist? Yeah, sure,” Catra muttered.

“I just mean maybe he’ll know what to do?” Adora insisted.

Catra looked at Adora, “I doubt it. Hey Adora, do you have plans today?”

Adora shook her head, “Not really, well, Glimmer wants all of us to play some game called Bullshit.”

“Bullshit?” Catra asked incredulously.

Adora shrugged, “It would be Glimmer, Bow, Scorpia, myself, and possibly you.”

“Yeah, okay, but I want to take a nap first, and you should stay with me,” Catra grinned.

Adora smirked, “Alright alright, I will.”

Catra yawned, smacked her lips, and purred, “Thanks, dork.”

“No problem, Catra.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright just a few notes; first of all I'll be out of town starting Thursday so I doubt I'll be able to do much updating from then until the 2nd of August. Second, there will be three more chapters of this story. Once this story is finished future writings might be a bit more sporadic since I'll be back in school come the middle of August.
> 
> Finally, thanks to everyone who reads, gives kudos, and/or comments on this fic.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora, Bow, Catra, Glimmer, and Scorpia play a game of Bullshit. After having another disturbing dream, Catra has a heart to heart with Angella, and her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight trigger warning at the last part for a brief mention of Catra about to go into labor.

“Okay, how does this game work?” Catra asked.

Adora, Glimmer, Bow, Scorpia, and Catra were in Glimmer’s room sitting on the floor in a circle. Bow was shuffling a deck of cards, doing some tricks in between each shuffle. Scorpia watched him with widened eyes, impressed at what he was doing. Everyone else turned to Glimmer waiting for her to explain the rules to Catra.

“The game is simple! Once Bow is done shuffling the deck he’s going to hand out the cards until the entire deck is gone. We each look at our cards and whoever has the two of clubs goes first. They put that card into the pile along with any other twos they might have. The next person will put down any threes that they have, the next person the fours, and this continues until we reach the kings. Once we go past that we go to the Aces, or the twos. The goal of this game is to get rid of all your cards first.”

“No offense, princess, but this sounds like a boring game,” Catra commented.

“Oh ho ho! You haven’t heard the best part!” Bow chimed in.

“Yes, in this game you are allowed to bullshit, or cheat,” Glimmer continued, “Say it’s your turn and we’re on the fives. You don’t have any, but that doesn’t need to stop you from putting down any random card from your hand and claiming it’s a five! However someone can call you out on your bullshit. If this happens then you have to pick up the entire pile.”

“Uhh quick question? What happens if say we do put the actual card down and a person calls bullshit on us?” Scorpia asked.

“Then the accuser is the one who will have to pick up the pile. Now are there any questions?” Glimmer asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

“Then let’s get this game started!” Glimmer exclaimed.

Bow quickly handed out all of the cards. Once they were all handed out everyone took a look at their cards. Catra took the time to observe the other players and gave a small smile. Judging by everyone’s expressions, Catra could tell that Scorpia had the two of clubs. Sure enough, Scorpia laid down a couple of cards and now it was Bow’s turn. His expression seemed still but Catra noticed that his eyes were looking over his cards a number of times.

“Pass” Bow said.

Now it was Catra’s turn and she had 2 threes. It was tempting to make a bluff, but the stakes simply weren’t high enough. She placed the 2 cards down, and it became Adora’s turn. Adora calmly grabbed a single card and put it in the pile. Glimmer looked at her hand and put down a single card. Now it was back to Scorpia and the woman was frowning. 

“Ahh, gee, pass,” she said.

As the game went on Catra learned different things about her opponents. She learned that Scorpia couldn’t keep a straight face to save her life. Bow took too long all things considered no matter what he played, so it was difficult to gauge exactly when he was cheating. Adora meanwhile was good at keeping her cool, but having known her almost her entire life, Catra could tell when Adora wasn’t being honest. She would close her eyes for a few seconds before opening them. Then there was Glimmer who proved to be the brashest of them all. She would alternate between woefully putting a single card down to excitedly slapping down 2 to 3 cards. No matter her turn she never passed.

They were now at the Kings and it was Glimmer’s turn. As expected she slapped down three cards. Catra looked at Glimmer and smiled. She had in her hand two kings meaning that there was no way possible Glimmer had three.

“Bullshit!” Catra exclaimed.

Glimmer cringed, “Damn it!” she flipped the cards over revealing that she only had one king.

Catra smirked as she watched Glimmer pick up the entire draw pile. The game continued until finally it was down to Scorpia with ten cards, Bow with six, Catra with four, Adora with five, and Glimmer with seven. It was now Catra’s turn and they were on the sevens again. Catra had in her hand an ace, a nine, a jack, and a king. She knew that during her next turn they would be on the Jacks and she could play that card. She licked her lips and took one of the cards. She could put a card down, but then she noticed Bow’s expression.

“Pass,” she said with a smirk.

She could swear that she heard Bow curse under his breath. The game continued on for at least five more rounds before Catra was declared the winner.

“You were right, that was a great game!” she said to the others.

Scorpia smiled, “Yeah it really was!”

“Congratulations you kept us on our toes!” Adora congratulated Catra.

After that was all said and done Catra headed back to her quarters to take a nap. 

*******  
 _Catra was sitting on a throne made of obsidian. In front of her were members of the Brightmoon and Halfmoon court. Catra looked at her right hand and was surprised to see that she was now holding a lever. Before any sort of action could be taken a figure stepped out from the shadows. Catra let out a gasp when the figure was fully revealed. She was looking at herself, except this other her was disrupted. Nearly half of her was pitch black and loathsome ember like scar marks separated what was shadow and what was still whole. The other Catra opened her mouth and let loose a terrifying, demonic sounding laugh._

_“I have fallen so far. Shadow Weaver was right, I am truly worthless,” the corrupted Catra spoke with a cold distorted robotic sounding voice. “It will soon be alright!” she laughed once again, the sound a painful throb to Catra._

Catra woke up with a start. She looked around the room and threw the covers off of her body. Without really thinking, Catra stormed out of her room and started her search for something, or rather, someone. It soon dawned on her that she had no idea who she wanted to talk to. She didn’t want to see Adora at the moment, and she really did not want to see Baraz. Perhaps then it was Queen Angella who Catra wanted to speak with, seeing that she wound up bumping into the much taller woman.

“Is everything quite alright?” Angella asked.

Catra looked up at Angella with a blank expression on her face. Her left ear twitched. She looked down at the floor and frowned, her ears lowering, and she shook her head.

“Is it about your father?” Angella asked softly.

Catra shook her head, “No! I mean, I guess, it’s not just that,” she admitted finally.

“Why don’t we go to the gardens and I’ll have the servants bring us some tea. How does that sound?”

Catra just shrugged, but nonetheless she did follow the Queen out to the gardens. There the two of them sat down. Angella ordered a cup of hot earl gray tea. Catra looked over the menu with confusion. “You’re the tea expert, have any suggestions?”

“I would suggest a calming tea. Chamomile is good for that but it might put you to sleep. If you don’t want that then I would go with the green tea or lavender tea,” she explained.

Catra still looked confused. Although she had been in Brightmoon for months now she still didn’t know everything about the place. She sure as Despondos didn’t know about things like tea. “What’s the difference?” she asked.

“Both have relaxing properties though green tea won’t put you to sleep. Green tea has a more earthen taste to it while lavender tea is more floral.”

“So I can either drink something that tastes like dirt or something that tastes like flowers,” Catra muttered. “Let me have the lavender tea,” she said, then added, “err...please.”

Angella ordered their beverages then turned to face Catra. “What seems to be the trouble?”

Catra frowned, and looked aside. “I don’t…” she started.

Gods above and below she didn’t want to be weak but she could feel herself about to burst. “Look it’s nothing important,” she finally admitted.

“I think it is important,” Angella answered in a gentle tone. “Unimportant things don’t tend to bother us.”

Catra sighed, “It’s not important because it’s just been a bunch of stupid dreams I’ve been having. They don’t mean anything so they’re not important.”

At this moment the servant came back with their teas and set them down. Catra took her cup, sniffed it, decided that she liked the smell of it so she took a sip. It was a mellow flavor and the scent seemed to relax Catra. She took another small sip and gave a small content sigh.

“Sometimes dreams have more importance than we’d like to think, especially if they seem to repeat,” Angella explained.

Catra took another small sip, and answered back, “I’ve been having dreams about Adora,” she finally admitted.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Angella said.

“She’s always in her She Ra form, she rides a huge wolf, and she’s-” Catra stopped herself, “If I said the last part you’d think I was a pervert.”

“I will make no such judgments,” Angella assured her.

Catra was skeptical, “she’s always naked.”

Angella let out a soft hmm and gazed into her cup. “Micah used to tell me that dreams could be used as a powerful tool. I never took much stock in them since I’m absolute rubbish at making sense of them.”

“You and me both,” Catra admitted. “But I had another dream earlier.”  
Angella encouraged Catra to continue, so the feline girl did. “I was sitting on a throne, then this other me comes forth but she’s...I’m strange looking. It looks like half of her has been burned or something. Then she calls me a failure, laughs and says Shadow Weaver was right.”

Angella shook her head. “It sounds to me as though you still hold an amount of regret and anger towards the one you call Shadow Weaver.”

Catra took another sip of her tea. Her expression remained relatively neutral. “Why couldn’t my dad find me?” she asks, the subject seemingly being changed, “He said they only looked three days. That wasn’t enough time! He could have found me!”

The immortal queen sets her cup down, pushes her chair back, and coaxes Catra over to her. The young Magicat finishes up her tea then reluctantly makes her way over to Angella. The angelic being opens her arms and wings for Catra and gently embraces her. “Your father loved you so much,” Angella starts, “He was so devastated, not only for losing his wife, but also for losing you. Halfmoon must have been in mourning for at least six months.”

Catra’s eyes went wide at that. Her entire life she had been told that people would be celebrating her death, but here was Angella telling her that her father and his people had mourned for her for six months. “Was my father always weird?” she asked.

“If by weird you mean his odd speaking habits and eccentric beliefs, then yes. Why?” Angella slowly rubbed the top of Cata’s head eliciting a small purr from her.

“He said that we don’t have control over what rivers we’re tossed in.”

Angella nodded, “Yes, the Magicats are big believers in things like fate and destiny.”

Catra scoffed, “Well that’s just stupid. I mean what’s the point of even trying to do anything if your destiny is already set out in front of you?”

Angella shook her head and looked at Catra. “I believe your father can explain it better than I ever could. Believe it or not I have a similar view as yours. Why should we bother to do anything at all if our fate is already written?”

Catra sighed, “Where is he?”

“He’s currently in the library. I would speak to him now. He plans to leave for Halfmoon in the morning.”

Catra removed herself from Angella’s embrace and quickly made her way out of the gardens, into the castle, and towards the library. Once she entered the library, Catra looked around for her father and found him sitting rather haphazardly on one of the bookshelves. The young feline girl made her way over to him, sat on her haunches and stared at him, her tail swishing back and forth.

“Ahh! Azar, I had hoped to see you again!” Baraz spoke.

“Cut the crap, I want answers!” Catra seethed, “What’s the point of doing anything if our lives are already controlled by fate?”

Baraz looked at his daughter and laughed, which earned him a glare from his daughter. “I’m deeply sorry, I was not laughing at you. We live our lives because fate and destiny is hidden from us!”

Catra gave him a confused look, so Baraz continued. “Every living being has a set destiny. Destiny is a stubborn mistress, she will never let go. No matter what we may do, our decisions will always lead to our destiny.”

“But then that means it was destiny for my mother to die and for me to be taken by the Horde. Then what was the point of even grieving for either of us??” she cried, confusion laced in her voice.

“We do not shut off our emotions because of destiny. Emotions is one of the many things that make us Etherian,” Baraz explained.

Catra looked down at the top of the bookshelf for a few moments. Her tail wrapped around her legs ever so slightly. “Angella told me you’re leaving tomorrow,” she finally said.

“I’m afraid so. There is a matter that I must attend to. I wish I could stay longer,” he answered.

Eyes squeezed shut, Catra willed the flow of oncoming tears to go away but they didn’t. “You really can’t stay?” she pleaded, tears seeping down her cheeks.

Baraz wrapped his arms around his daughter, embracing her in a warm hug. “We will see each other again, this I promise you.”

That word, promise, triggered emotions and memories that Catra thought she had overcome. The tears flowed faster and she was now sobbing. “Don’t-don’t say that!” she cried.

“That we will see each other?” Baraz asked as he used his hand to rub Catra’s back.

“Don’t promise me anything!” she growled, “Promises are always broken and this one will be no different!” 

Baraz sighed, “We will see each other again.”  
“But how??” Catra looked at her father. “You said it yourself, Halfmoon doesn’t exist!”

The older magicat wiped a tear from his daughter’s face and softly smiled at her. “Ahh but we do exist. Do not worry, when next the moon has set you will have your answer.”

Catra wanted to ask him some more questions, but instead she was hugged once more. 

“I shall see you soon,” Baraz purred before he took off.

Confused, Catra leapt down from the shelf and decided to head to her room. Adora still wasn’t in there which suited Catra just fine. She flopped down on her back and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. When she woke up the next morning there was a note on the table as well as a key. Catra opened the note and read it.

_My Dearest Azar,  
By the time you read this I will be back with our people. I have left for you a key. Go to the Whispering Woods and search for a rock with our symbol on it. Only you will be able to see it. Use the key I gave you and everything will be revealed._

_-with deepest love, your father._

Catra stared at the note and sighed. She would find this location after she gave birth to her child, whenever that would be.

******  
It had been a few weeks since Baraz had left Brightmoon Castle. All things considered, Catra seemed to be doing just fine. There was however that one day when she was more cross than usual and insisted on being left alone. On that very same day she maneuvered her pillows and blankets into a nest where she would rest. On occasion she would use her tongue to clean around her genitalia before napping.

She woke up from her latest nap and was startled to feel that her bedding was soaked. “Fucking Despondos,” she hissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that season 3 huh? That was quite a doozy wasn't it? 
> 
> Two more chapters to go and then it's on to the third and final story of this series.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the chapter many of you have been waiting for! Catra goes into labor and gives birth to her children. Hordak and Entrapta make an appearance at the end.
> 
> tw for pregnancy stuff and slight depictions of giving birth.

As soon as Catra had felt the soaked bedding she just knew what was going on. “Fucking Despondos!” she hissed while quickly clamoring out of the bed.

Her water had broke, and Catra was caught between wanting to find a private place to give birth and wanting help. “Okay, calm down, Catra. Going into a panic won’t do anyone any good,” she told herself.

Fear suddenly set in when she considered that something was very wrong. “Wait, it’s too early...no, no, no!” she started to panic, and in her panic she begin to pace around the room. “No, it’s too early! Fuck fuck,OW FUCK!” she doubled over as a contraction hit.

“Catra?” Adora asked while opening the door, “Is some-Catra!” she exclaimed, racing to her girlfriend’s side and placing an arm around her. She wasn’t entirely surprised when Catra tried to push her away; she had read about Magicat pregnancies and how the pregnant Magicat would seek some place private to give birth.

“Lay off, I’m fine!” Catra growled, “I just need to find some place quiet.”

Adora looked at Catra and shook her head, “You’re crying, just let me help you. I can get you to the medical room.”

Catra hissed at Adora, “I just need a closet! Fuck, can’t you leave me alone??”

Adora sighed, “I’ll make sure that the room doesn’t become crowded alright?”

Catra’s ears flattened, but she relented. “Fine, but you’re not carrying me, and I don’t want a bunch of people in the room gawking at me, got it??”

Adora nodded, “at least let me help you,” she pleaded, offering Catra her arm.

Catra rolled her eyes, “Whatever,” she responded before taking hold of Adora’s arm. Despite her talk of not needing any help, Catra was secretly glad for it, especially when a contraction would hit.

“We’re almost there,” Adora assured the magicat.

In fact they were only a few steps away Queen Angella spotted them. “Adora, Catra, what is going on here?”

“Catra’s going into labor,” Adora responded.

“I can answer for my-” Catra snapped just before doubling over in pain, again.

“Right, let’s get her into the medical bay. I’ll call for a midwife,” Angella said.

Catra shot her a dirty look. “Is that really necessary?”

They made it to the medical bay and maneuvered Catra to a reclined bed. “Yes, a midwife will make things go more smoothly,” Angella said.

“Fine, just, I don’t want a bunch of people in here, alright?” Catra whined.

Angella nodded her head, “Of course, I understand,” she answered before leaving.

A few minutes later, she came back with Scorpia, much to the shock of Catra and Adora. “Scorpia? You?” Catra asked.

“Well yeah, I was a midwife back at the Horde,” Scorpia started, “It was covered in-”

“Scorpia, I swear to whatever that if you say “force captain orientation” I will claw your fucking face off!” Catra snarled.

Scorpia gave a nervous chuckle, but soon went serious. “Alright, your majesty? We’re going to need some warm water, towels, and a couple of blankets. Also let’s get some herbal medicine in here for pain relief.”

******  
After eight hours of contractions, and pushing, as well as Adora realizing just how strong Catra’s grip could be, Scorpia finally yelled, “I see the head! Come on Catra, push!”

Catra pushed as hard as she could, breathing heavily, then crying out when she couldn’t push anymore.

“It’s out! We just need one last push, okay?” Scorpia said.

Tears streamed down Catra’s face. Adora wiped her forehead with a damp cloth, “You can do this.”

Catra gave one last push. A loud cry filled the room, and Scorpia took hold of the newly born magikitten into her arms before handing it over to Angella who cleaned the newborn. Scorpia went back to check on Catra, then her eyes went wide.

“What, what is it?” Adora asked.

“Catra, it looks like you’re going to have twins,” Scorpia announced.

The new mom was shocked at the news, and exhausted. In her exhaustion she started to cry. “What?? How?”

“Let’s just focus on pushing, okay?” Scorpia said gently.

Catra glared, but nodded her head and started to push. Fortunately it didn’t seem to be long at all before the second magikitten was born. Scorpia handed the baby over to Angella who cleaned the baby up. She then handed the babies over to Catra who took them into her arms.

“They’re beautiful!” Adora whispered with excitement.

Catra looked at her newborns. The older of the two had black fur all over his body, while the youngest one, a girl, had blue gray fur. Catra sniffed, “Yeah...they really are.”

“What are you going to name them?” Scorpia asked.

Catra shook her head, “I, I don’t know.” She looked at Angella and asked, “Do you know what my name means? I mean, my real name?”

Angella smiled, “Yes, it means fire. It is said to come from an ancient language.”

Catra looked at the two cubs who were now suckling on her breasts. “I want their names to mean something,” she said softly.

The other three women nodded. Angella left to attend to something, while Scorpia offered to get Catra something light to eat. Catra thanked Scorpia, but told her to wait on that. Eventually it was only Catra and Adora in the room. Catra looked at Adora and smiled, “They’re like dusk and dawn,” Catra whispered.

Adora nodded her head and gently stroked Catra’s hair. “They’re beautiful, just like their mother.”

*****  
Back at the Horde, Entrapta and Hordak were once again testing out a yet again, newly redesigned portal. Hordak pulled the switch and the two of them watched as a great swirling vortex begin to form. As the portal seemed to grow in size, Entrapta’s eyes went wide with wonder, while Hordak’s expression turned hopeful. Neither expression lasted long, however, the portal grew in size before seeming to erupt and then disappear.

“I don’t understand!” Entrapta exclaimed. “This is being powered by First Ones tech. Hmmm, it’s almost as if though there’s a key missing.”

Hordak slammed his fist down on the console, “It’s useless!” he shouted.  
“Well no need to get into a tizzy about it!” Entrapta exclaimed, “We can’t just give up because it hasn’t worked yet,” she pointed out.

Hordak sighed, “Leave, now.” His tone was neither harsh nor cold, but seemed to be filled with sadness.

Entrapta considered asking him what was wrong but opted against that and simply left with Emily.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the final chapter, several revelations are revealed that only bring more questions than they really answer.

It had been two months since the birth of Catra’s twins. She had named the older of the two Nyx, while the younger one she had named Eos. According to the books she had read, these were the names of deities from ancient times. Not only did Catra like the sound of the names, but she also liked that she wouldn’t have to call them Catra Jr, and Catra Jr II.

At the moment she was taking a well deserved rest, on the behest of Adora of course. “Catra, you need to relax, Angella’s offered to watch the twins for a few hours,” the blonde pleaded.

Catra was in the middle of grooming the kittens when she looked at Adora and furrowed her brows, “Adora, I’ve got this, alright?” but the yawn she let out said otherwise.

“Uh huh, you look like you’re about to fall asleep” Adora smirked.

Catra just rolled her eyes, but conceded the point. “Alright, let’s bring them to Angella. I swear, if she decides to fly with them I’ll rip her fucking wings off,” Catra growled, picking Nyx and Eos up and cradling them against her chest.

“Come on, I don’t think the Queen would do that to your children,” Adora reassured Catra. “Do you want some help?”

Catra sighed, “Alright, you can take Eos,” she answered as she handed the gray Magikitten to Adora who gently took hold of her, using one arm to support her at the bottom.

The two of them headed for the throne room, but when they were about 20 feet away, Catra stopped short. 

“Catra?” Adora asked.

Catra put a hand up as if to say, “be quiet.” She quickly sniffed the air. Immediately her fur stood on end and a low growl emitted from her chest. Without a word she turned around and started heading in the opposite direction. Adora quickly followed suit.

“What’s wrong?” Adora asked.

Catra handed Nyx to Adora, “Take them to our room and lock the door.”

“But why?” Adora was confused.

Instead of answering, Catra just hissed. “Just do this for me, okay?”

Adora wanted to know what was going on, but conceded that perhaps she should just do as Catra requested. Without a word she took Nyx and Eos to their bedroom. Catra quickly turned and raced to the throne room but stopped just short of the doorway. Her ears perked up and turned towards the room, Catra listened in on the conversation that was going on.

“I’ve told you before, you have no claim to the children!” Angella spoke.

“Like Despondos I don’t! I am the rightful father!” that was obviously Grizzlor speaking.

“You raped a young woman and impregnated her. You have no right!” Angella’s voice was cold, dripping with venom.

“Your majesty, surely you must realize that my comrade here had no choice in the matter. Are you really going to deny him his rights as a father?” and that must have been Sargeant Cobalt.

“Funny, as I understand one of your force captains, Scorpia, managed to control her urges. Your comrade has no excuse. Now, if there is no further business, leave now,” Angella commanded.

“Tell Catra she has two days to give us the child or the Horde will attack Brightmoon,” Grizzlor answered.

Catra quickly turned back and scampered back to her living quarters. “Adora, let me in!” she hissed through the door.

A few seconds later the door opened, and Catra hastily stepped inside before shutting the door. “Grizzlor and Cobalt are here,” she whispered.

Adora’s eyes went wide, “What? Why?”

Catra gave Adora an are you fucking serious? Look. “He thinks that just because he knocked me up he has the right to see the children.”

“What did Queen Angella say?” 

Catra made her way over to the bed and sat down. Immediately, Nyx clamored up on the bed and began pawing at Catra’s breast. Catra scooped him into her arms, removed her shirt, and let the Magikitten suckle from her teat. “She told them to fuck off.”

“Really?” Adora asked skeptically.

“Yes, maybe not in those words but she told them to leave,” Catra answered.

Adora sat next to Catra. “Did they leave?”

Catra nodded. “For now, but if I don’t give them the children in two days they’re going to attack Brightmoon.”

At this moment, Eos decided that she wasn’t happy being left out, so she climbed up Adora’s leg then promptly plopped down on Adora’s lap. “What are you going to do?” she asked while petting Eos.

Catra looked down at Nyx, then at Eos, and finally at Adora. “My father gave me a key. Maybe if I can find him I can ask him to take care of them for now. Just until the Horde is destroyed.”

“Catra, are you sure?” Adora asked.

“What other choice do I have??” Catra hissed. “And don’t say we’ll just keep fighting against them, because we both know that won’t work.”

Adora sighed, “Catra, you said yourself that this kingdom doesn’t exist! What are you going to do when you can’t find your father?”

Nyx stopped feeding from his mother. He clamored down to Catra’s lap, yawned, curled up and fell asleep. Catra sighed, “I’ll find him Adora, I have to.”

“What do you plan on doing if you do find him?” Adora asked.

Before Catra could answer there was a knock on the door followed by it being opened. “Queen Angella requests your presence in the war room, immediately,” the guard exclaimed. Without another word she turned around and walked away.

Catra and Adora looked at each other, then with Nyx and Eos in arm the two of them headed to the war room. Catra thanked whatever god that her children were in a deep sleep. She hoped that they would stay asleep during the meeting. The two of them soon entered the room where Angella, Scorpia, Glimmer, Bow, and the commanding guard were waiting. Angella stood up and greeted Adora and Catra.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice, I’m afraid I have some terrible news,” Angella started.

Everyone in the room took a seat around the war table and waited for Angella to continue. “I received a visit from Grizzlor, and a Sergeant Cobalt.”

“Wow,” Catra scoffed, “Took them long enough.”

Adora gave Catra a look, and to this Catra just shrugged.

“Yes, anyway, they’re threatening to attack Brightmoon if the children aren’t handed over in two days,” Angella continued. “Now from what I understand, since both you and Scorpia defected from the Horde that has significantly weakened their forces.”

“Mom, are you suggesting that we just let them attack?” Glimmer asked.

“Your majesty,” Adora started, “Something about this doesn’t seem right.”

“Yeah, I mean there’s been no mention of the Horde taking over any place else, I’m pretty sure Hordak is all about that sort of thing,” Scorpia chimed in.

Angella let out a sigh, “Which leads me to my next bit of unfortunate news. We have in our custody a prisoner who claims to know information about the Horde.”

Catra’s face seemed to go pale, and Adora’s expression became grin. “No, it’s not…”

“Shadow Weaver? I’m afraid so. We caught her in Brightmoon castle last night,” Angella said.

Instinctively, Catra cradled her cubs close to her. “How did she get in?” Catra growled.

“She refuses to talk to anyone but Adora, we’ve been trying all morning to get her to speak.”

Adora exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding, “Then I need to talk to her.”

Catra gave her a worried look, but inwardly conceded the point. “I’m not sticking around, I’m going to my father’s kingdom.”

“Do you know where it is?” Scorpia asked, “I mean I thought it didn’t exist?”

“He gave me a key. So, I’m leaving,” Catra stood up with Nyx and Eos in tow.

“Bow is going with you. I don’t want you going alone, Catra,” Angella said.

The Magicat let out a small growl, but finally relented. “Fine, let’s go Arrow Boy.”

 

***************

After Catra and Bow left, the rest of the group headed to the room where Shadow Weaver was being held. “Mom, I didn’t know we had a prison?”

Angella chuckled, “It’s the spare bedroom.” When she noticed everyone looking at her, she added, “I had the cushions removed!” There was a pause, and she finished, “Okay, most of the cushions.”

Upon arriving at the door, Angella opened it and turned to Adora. “Adora, Casta and I will be with you for support. Glimmer? I’m going to need for you to send for the other princesses.”

Glimmer was about to protest, but decided not to. Angella, and Adora entered the room. The young woman looked around the room in awe. It was by no means as nice as the other rooms in the castle, but she hesitated to call it a prison. Prisons were supposed to be tiny and cramped. They were supposed to be bare and lonely. This room was large and spacious, and there was furniture everywhere. When Adora spotted Shadow Weaver she noticed that the sorceress was lying down in some sort of circle.

“What’s wrong with her?” Adora asked.

“We think she’s dying,” Castaspella answered.

She felt concern for her adoptive mother, but she also felt a strange sense that she wasn’t sure what to call. It was almost like she was happy to hear that she was dying. Adora frowned, she couldn’t just let Shadow Weaver die no matter what the woman had done to her and Catra. She was about to say something, but Angella spoke first.

“Adora is here, now tell us why you’re here.”

Shadow Weaver struggled to lift her head up to look at Adora, and managed to say “Adora,” before her body was racked by a strong coughing fit.

“She can’t answer like this!” Adora exclaimed, “I-I need to heal her!” 

Before she could take her sword out, Angella stopped her. “Adora, you’ve never healed anyone before!”

“But I need to do something!” Adora exclaimed, “If I don’t do something she’ll die and we won’t ever get any answers!”

Angella just shook her head. “No, we can’t risk it. I will heal her to the best of my ability.” Angella knew that what healing powers she had were weak, but if she could heal Shadow Weaver enough for her to speak then that would be a win in her opinion. Concentrating, Angella held her hands up to the barrier and closed her eyes. Soft purple light emitted from her hands towards the barrier, covering it in the same light. The light seeped through and like tendrils they trickled slowly to the ground and towards Shadow Weaver. When the light reached her she let out a gasp. The healing was by no means a complete one. Shadow Weaver would still die without the proper healing.

“Why are you here, Shadow Weaver?” Adora asked.

Shadow Weaver reached for Adora, “Adora, my dear sweet child, I came to see you.”

Adora glared, “We’re past that.”

“Clever girl, but from the moment I laid eyes on you I knew you were-”

“Special?” Adora asked excitedly. Her tone dropped, “Because you always told me that I was worthless. That I would only amount to something if I obeyed you.”

Shadow Weaver glared at Adora, but quickly softened her features. “What I did, I did because I love you.”

Adora wanted to scream, but she didn’t. “Why are you here?”

“You want the truth?” Shadow Weaver cackled, “I have no place else to go. Catra betrayed me and Hordak cast me aside. I want to destroy both of them, with your help.”

“That’s not happening. I won’t let you destroy Catra,” Adora answered.

So far neither Angella or Casta had spoken up. It wasn’t that they didn’t have anything to say, they had a lot to say, but they were only here to support Adora and intervene only when necessary. Right now it didn’t seem necessary.

“Surely you must realize how dangerous she is. How unstable she is. Adora, I know you love her, but sometimes we must put our pets down,” Shadow Weaver said.

Adora glared, and answered back, “You’re not going to manipulate me, Shadow Weaver. And why should I for one second believe that you want to destroy Hordak?”

Shadow Weaver sighed. Adora had indeed become so much more clever, and perhaps it was time to be completely opposite. “Hordak has been working on portal technology for years now. He plans to bring the rest of the Horde army to Etheria.”

Adora’s eyes widened. Angella stepped forward. “Why should we believe you? Hordak and Entrapta were working on another project to produce soldiers.”

For once Shadow Weaver seemed taken aback. “Strange, he only told me about the portal. Perhaps he’s becoming desperate?” she laughed.   
“You say he plans to bring more of the Horde to Etheria, why should we believe you?” Angella asked.

Shadow Weaver looked at Adora but before she could speak she started coughing violently. A black tar like substance came from her mouth and down to the ground. She continued coughing, unable to stop. Adora frowned, but she knew what she needed to do. Unsheathing the sword from behind her, Adora raised it in the air, and cried out, “For the honor of Grayskull!”

She was enveloped in a flash of light that nearly blinded everyone in the room. While the light did fade, She Ra still gave off an aura that was only barely less blinding than before. Adora raised her sword, pointed it at Shadow Weaver, but in frustration she groaned, “I can’t do it! I don’t know how! Do I point the sword at you, or?”

“Calm down,” Shadow Weaver said, “If you’re going to heal there must be peace in your mind. Otherwise the energy becomes destructive.”

Well that explained a lot, Adora thought to herself. “But I still don’t know how,” she admitted.

“I might be able to help you,” Shadow Weaver said.

Adora hesitated, but she stepped through the barrier and knelt down in front of Shadow Weaver. Shadow Weaver examined her. “You are a princess, which means you have a runestone. Your rune stone is in the sword. Allow the power to flow from the stone and into you.”

Adora did as asked, but there was still something getting in her way. “There is animosity within you. You are afraid of your own power, of it spiraling out of control.”

The younger woman thought that Shadow Weaver would tell her to get over it, so she was a little surprised to hear what her former mentor had to say.

“Allow yourself to feel it, and then let it go. You are greater than your fear,” Shadow Weaver actually sounded caring?

She followed Shadow Weaver’s advice. She let herself feel the emotions that were inside of her, and then she let them go. She focused on the stone and allowed its power to flow into her. The sword levitated in the air and tendrils of light enveloped Adora. Everyone gasped as her eyes turned a much lighter shade of blue, it was almost like she was possessed by something. Adora then placed her hands on the sides of Shadow Weaver’s face and let her power heal the older woman.

Shadow Weaver could feel an intense healing energy travel all around and all through her body. She was no longer in pain. She thought that perhaps her scars had been healed though she was not sure, but more importantly she didn’t feel the withdrawal symptoms of not having any magic. She looked at her hands, then at Adora who was now out of the circle and back in her original form.

“I held up my end of the bargain. Now you hold up yours,” Adora commanded.

“So you did. I can’t make you believe me. Just know that I gain nothing from lying.”

Adora sighed, “You claim that Hordak has been working on a portal to bring forth more of his army, yet he also decided to make more soldiers within the Horde?”

“What do you mean?” Shadow Weaver asked.

All three looked at her, and they all realized that Shadow Weaver had no idea what had happened to Catra. Adora was not about to tell Shadow Weaver what Hordak and Entrapta had done. “It’s not important. How do we stop Hordak?”

Shadow Weaver laughed, “Stop him? Our only hope is that he doesn’t find the key! With Catra as his second in command it won’t be long before the key is found. Much as I loathe to admit it, that girl is smart.”

“She’s no longer Hordak’s second in command, and that’s all I’ll say on the matter,” Adora replied.

Shadow Weaver looked surprised, and while she wanted to question Adora she chose not to. “Very well. Perhaps Hordak finally got rid of her.”

Adora quickly stormed out of the room, regretting her decision to heal the sorceress.

********

In the Whispering Woods, Bow and Catra were searching for something. Actually, Catra was searching for something, while Bow just followed along. “Catra, you know we might be able to find this place easier if you let me help.”

“I’m the only one who can see it,” Catra answered back, “Now do me a favor and keep a look out for anything or anyone suspicious.”

While Catra continued to search, Bow kept watch. Soon Catra noticed a strange scent. It smelled like cooking meat but there were no signs of a fire nearby. The more she ventured forward the stronger the smell got. “Hey, Arrow Boy, do you smell anything?”

“It’s Bow, and umm, no?” he answered.

Nyx and Eos started mewing softly from their perch inside of their mother’s backpack. “They smell it too,” Catra commented.

She then noticed a tree that looked very different from all of the other surrounding trees. It was incredibly large. The trunk was wide enough to fit several skiffs through at once, and the tree itself was taller than all the other trees. Catra looked at Bow, “Can you see this?” she pointed at the tree.

Bow cocked a brow, “Umm that small tree?”

Catra shook her head, “Nevermind, I think I found it.” She removed the key she had been keeping around her neck and searched for a lock. As suspected she found one, and sure enough the key fit through the lock. With a twist of the key part of the tree opened up. With little hesitation, Catra stepped through.

What Bow saw was Catra just disappearing seemingly into thin air.

Catra turned around only to see that the door was now gone. Feeling a little nervous she looked around and was taken aback by just how bustling this place was. It reminded her of the dream she had with her and Adora inside of the cave, but as she looked up she could see various buildings everywhere. There were people who looked like her going about their day. Catra was about to ask where her father was, but realized that these people wouldn’t look too fondly upon someone in the Horde’s uniform. Rather quickly she reached into her bag, pulled out the cloak that Scorpia had packed for her, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“Hey, listen, I’m trying to find king Baraz. Do you know where I can find him?”

The other magicat just shrugged. Catra rolled her eyes, and continued asking anyone and everyone she saw. Most of them just shrugged. One of them told Catra that the king was probably at the tavern coralsing with some of his people. Another one mentioned that he usually went hunting during this time of day. Catra asked about the hunting grounds, but once more they were of little help. Catra did manage to get directions to the tavern however, so she made her way there. 

Finding the tavern wasn’t all that difficult. The closer she got to it the louder it became. When she arrived she noticed that there were some magicats on a platform making various noises with objects. All around were magicats dancing with one another, drinking, and just having a good time. It was a very strange thing to see for Catra. She maneuvered through the throng of magicats until she reached the bar.

“Hey, I’m looking for King Baraz! He here?” Catra asked.

The bartender, one rather leonian in appearance turned around and glared at Catra. “Why d’ya wanna know?”

“Ease up on the girl, Art!” a familiar voice exclaimed.

Catra quickly turned around, “Ba-I mean...Dad?”

The bartender, Art looked at Catra, then at Baraz, then at Catra. Baraz gave his daughter a warm smile, and opened his arms to her. Hesitant, Catra accepted the hug. When she tried to pull away however, he kept hugging her for at least a couple more seconds. “Azar! You’ve found us!” He exclaimed after letting her go.

“Yes, what is this place?” she asked.

Two tiny mews came from her backpack. Catra carefully removed both Eos and Nyx who had their heads out. “Oh my! These must be the children, and twins! Ose has blessed you.”

Catra frowned at that. She had no idea who or what Ose was, and she sure as Despondos didn’t see this as a blessing. Of course she felt something like love for her kittens, but if she had it her way, then she would have gotten to choose her mate.

“Come, let’s go someplace a little more quiet, Azar,” Baraz told her.

Catra followed him to a more secluded location, a location away from the crowd and noise, where they wouldn’t be bothered. As Catra followed her father she begin to understand more about where her love of high places came from. They must have climbed at least ten stories before Baraz stopped. He led them to a table where he sat down, and Catra followed suit. “So, uhh, this is Halfmoon?” Catra questioned.

“Yes, a mighty fine kingdom! No matter how she may fall she will always rise again!” He proclaimed proudly, “But enough about me! How are you?”

Catra looked at Nyx and Eos. “The person who got me pregnant is demanding to see Nyx and Eos.”

Baraz stroked his chin, “Nyx, and Eos? If I recall right those are names of ancient deities. Greco or Egyptian...or was it? Bah!”

“One was a deity of night and the other one of dawn. I read,” Catra said with a smile.

During the conversation, Catra had placed her kittens on the table. Eos was batting at a napkin while Nyx was lightly batting at Baraz’s beard. “I don’t want Grizzlor to have them, but he says if I don’t hand them over, the Horde is going to attack Brightmoon.”  
Baraz sighed, “Grizzlor has caused us nothing but problems in the past and it seems he continues to cause them.”

“Wait, you know him?” Catra asked.

“Unfortunately,” he answered grimly.

Catra waited for him to elaborate. If Grizzlor was as dangerous as her father had said, then he’d say more about it, right? Instead of saying anything else on the matter, Catra noticed him playing with the kittens. She watched as Nyx clamored onto Baraz’s beard and be raised up. Meanwhile, Eos was on his shoulder, gently curled up and sleeping. Catra smiled at the site. The smile soon turned into a slight frown. She was getting impatient. She wanted answers, now.

“What did he do?” Catra asked.

“He betrayed us, sold us out to the Horde.”

Catra squinted, several thoughts ran through her mind, but the biggest ones were how it happened, and why. “Wait, I thought this kingdom was hidden? How did he get in?”

“Ahh, it’s easy when you are a Magicat yourself!” Baraz chuckled.

Catra’s eyes went wide at the answer. “You mean Grizzlor is one of us?”

Her father laughed, but soon his expression turned dark. “He may be the same species as us, but he is not one of us,” he explained.

“What did he do?” she asked, hoping that her father would answer the underlying question and not simply repeat what he had said before. The longer it took for him to answer, the more impatient Catra became. Just when she was about to give, Baraz answered her.

“He sold us out to the Horde. He’s the reason why we had to go even deeper into hiding. He is the reason for your mother’s murder, and the reason why you were forced to become one of them,” he growled, something Catra had never seen him do before.

A small part of her wanted to apologize for dredging up horrible memories, but in the end she could only look down and frown. “What happened?” She wanted to know more, she NEEDED to know more.

“Do you know the creation story of the Magicats, Azar?” He asked.

Catra shook her head.

“A long, long time ago, many thousands of years ago actually, our gods took for themselves some of the First Ones as their mates. From these unions were born the first ten Magicats.”

“Uh huh,” said Catra, “Let me guess, one of these gods was Ose?”

“Correct!” Baraz shouted triumphantly.

Catra sighed, “And what does this have to do with Grizzlor?” she questioned, watching her children curl up together on the table right across from him and sleep.

“When you were born that was when Hordak came in through the portal and started taking over Etheria. When word got out that one of the largest kingdoms in all of Etheria had fallen we decided right then and there that Hordak needed to be taken out,” he started to explain.

“You were going to kill Hordak?” Catra asked, somewhat surprised.

Baraz laughed, “Kill? Oh heavens, of course not! We were just going to assassinate him!”

“That’s the same thing,” Catra answered flatly.

“Yes, I suppose it is, but as assassins we believe that death should be quick and painless. Grizzlor however believed us to be too merciful. He believed that our targets should suffer, and even created ways to make someone’s death more agonizing. We tried to reach him, but he soon found a place where he was welcomed.”

“The Horde,” Catra whispered, tears pricking at her eyes.

Baraz only nodded. “He sold us out. He gave them the keys to the kingdom for thirty pieces of silver. We tried hiding, but it was no use. Many of our kind were murdered, those that escaped were forced into hiding.”

At hearing all of this, Catra started crying. Her ears were folded flat, a deep frown formed on her face, and her tail swished back and forth by its own volition. “Why do you weep?” Baraz asked.

Catra shook her head. “It’s nothing, honest.”

Baraz gave her a look of compassion and doubt. When he opened his arms to her, Catra reluctantly stepped into them and let her father hug her. While she tried to stop herself the tears came flowing out and her body was racked with sobs. She mumbled apologies for being weak. Her father gently rocked her while offering her assurance.

“You have nothing to apologize for. Emotions are not a weakness, but a sign of strength. My dear Azar, you have been through so much during your life. I will not make any promises, but know that I love you, and so did your mother.”

Catra sniffled, and after a little while, she calmed down. For the first time in forever she felt safe, and loved by a parental figure. Naturally there was a voice in the back of her head telling her that her father would abandon her as well. For now she chose to ignore the voice. “I need a favor,” she finally said.

“Anything for you,” he answered.

“Nyx and Eos need to stay here, at least until the Horde is destroyed. Or at least until Grizzlor is done away with.”

“They may stay, but can you kill the father of your children?”

Catra glared, “As far as I’m concerned, Grizzlor is not their father.”

The two of them said goodbye. Catra tearfully kissed her children goodbye and found herself making a promise to come for them once everything was right in Etheria. Baraz assured her that the children would be well taken care of. Once Catra was confident enough in her trust, she bid the three of them a “see you soon,” before leaving.

********

Hordak stared at his left arm with disgust. What was once a strong, beautiful arm with cobalt blue skin was now mostly bone. Not wanting to stare at one of the many reminders of his inferiority, Hordak begin the process of covering it up with a cyborg enhancement. The machine accidentally hit the bone, causing the tyrant to roar out in pain.

“Wonderful news, Hordak!” a bright chipper voice rang from behind him.

Hordak quickly covered up his arm and growled. The last thing he wanted now was for Entrapta to see him in such a weak state. “If this is about the portal I told you to forget it!”

“Wow! If every scientist gave up after a few failed attempts we wouldn’t have anything!” Entrapta exclaimed. “Besides, obviously this portal is important to you for some reason. Or maybe it’s not, I don’t know.”

“You wish to know why this portal is important to me?” he asked, “I am a clone! A clone of Horde Prime the supreme Emperor of the known universe! I was once his commanding general, but I had a defect. He had cast me down, but before anyone could destroy me, a portal opened, sending me to this hideous backwater planet.”  
Entrapta’s eyes went wide, and she gave him a big smile, “Wait, so you want to open a portal to get back home?”

Hordak shook his head, “No, I want to bring my armies here, crush the rebellion once and for all, and take this planet! Then I shall meet face to face with Horde Prime and say, “I am not a defect! I am not useless! I am worth something!””

Entrapta nodded her head. “One little problem. Do you really think your brother is going to be impressed that you conquered what you keep calling a backwater planet?” she asked.

Hordak conceded that she had a point, but he wasn’t willing to tell her the entire story. “Once I conquer Etheria, then I can conquer more planets. Now tell me, what is this good news that you have?”

Entrapta jumped up, and used her hair to carry her over to her computer. “Remember when I said that the portal probably needs a key?”

Hordak nodded.

“I’ve been getting signals of an incredibly powerful piece of First One’s tech! It’s the strongest that I’ve ever seen!”

Hordak stared at the screen, “And where would this piece of First One’s technology be?”

“So, according to my tracker this object is constantly on the move, which means that someone must be carrying it with them. The object is often in Brightmoon, but I’ve also seen it travel to the Whispering Woods, and other places.”

Hordak began to put the pieces together. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I might be. My hypothesis is that Adora is the one who holds the key.”

“The Sword of Protection,” Hordak stated.

“Yes!”

Hordak smiled. For once it seemed that things would finally start going his way. “Thank you, Entrapta, you may leave now.”

*****

“And then she just disappeared!” Bow explained to the group in Brightmoon.

There were clamors of how such a thing could happen, that it was impossible, and would Catra ever come back. The last question was answered when a tired Catra walked into the room and watched the commotion. “Aww, you guys care about me!”

“Catra!” Adora shouted as she raced over to hug her girlfriend, “What happened? Where are Nyx and Eos?”

Catra returned the hug, then looked at the group. “They’re with my dad. There are some things that need to be discussed, but right now I’d like to talk with Adora and Scorpia, alone.”

Adora and Scorpia looked at each other, then at Catra. Angella walked over to Catra, and answered, “Of course. We will talk later tonight, all of us.”

Catra smiled, and lead Adora and Scorpia to her and Adora’s room. Once they were inside, Catra collapsed on the chair and started to cry. Scorpia hurried over to the feline and squatted down to her level. “Wild Cat, what’s wrong?”

Adora was on the other side in no time at all. “Is everything okay?”

Catra sniffled and smiled, “I’m fine, geez, can’t a girl cry?”

“Except you never cry unless something is wrong,” Scorpia pointed out.

Catra laughed, “I miss my kids, imagine that!”

Adora hugged her, “You did what needed to be done.”

“And don’t worry, you’ll get them back!” Scorpia assured her.

Catra smiled, “Of course I will, after we take the Horde down once and for all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done! I hope that everyone enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was thanks to all the kudos, comments, bookmarks, and views that helped inspire me to complete this fanfic. So, thank you everyone for reading, commenting, giving kudos, and bookmarking.
> 
> And now for some notes concerning this chapter of the story.
> 
> 1\. After the events of Season 3 I knew that I had to incorporate certain elements somehow. This meant adding Shadow Weaver in the very last chapter. It also meant that because Mara couldn't appear in this story I had to have Entrapta figure out that She Ra's sword is the key.
> 
> 2\. The gods mentioned by Baraz are from the Ars Goetia.
> 
> 3\. While this is the end of this fic, there will be a third and final part to The Violation series.
> 
> Once again, thank you to everyone! If you want you can follow me on tumblr at catra-listens-to-death-core. I post a lot of Catra meta on there.


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